Fifteen new cases of coronavirus infection have been confirmed in Slovenia in the last 24 hours after 1,161 people were tested, and one more person has died, bringing the country's COVID-19 death toll to 81, the government said on Saturday.

A total of 48,179 tests have been carried out to date and the infection has been found in 1,388 people. Seventy-seven infected people are currently in hospitals, including 23 in intensive care, and four more people were discharged on Friday.

The number of hospitalised people has been stable over the past week and the number of severe cases in intensive care is on the decline.

The situation remains most difficult in nursing homes, where staff held protest rallies on Friday complaining about difficult work conditions and claiming that these homes with vulnerable people had turned into infectious disease hospitals.

On Saturday, the coronavirus infection was for the first time confirmed among Slovenian military personnel serving in NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. The infection was confirmed in three servicemen and they have been placed in isolation at Film City base in Pristina. They are in good condition and will be repatriated as soon as practicable, the government said.