Slovenian health authorities have reported 8,396 new infections with coronavirus in the past 24 hours, with three in four tests coming back positive.

Due to the fast spread of the Omicron variant, as of Monday the period of isolation for those infected with the virus is shorter and they can go back to work if their test is negative after seven days. The period of isolation was shortened to prevent the collapse of essential services as well as of the business sector due to a large number of people in quarantine and isolation.

The number of new infections is lower than on Sunday when 13,911 new infections were confirmed, but it is higher than seven days ago.

In the past 24 hours, 11,104 PCR tests confirmed 8,396 infections, with the test positivity rate standing at 75.6%. Another 18 COVID patients have died, the country’s public health institute has said.

The seven-day daily average of infections has increased to 10,480 while the 14-day incidence per 100,000 population has climbed to 5,613. The number of active cases stands at 118,636.

Currently, there are 608 hospitalised COVID patients, of whom 136 are in intensive care wards.

The health authorities predict the current wave of the epidemic will probably peak in mid-February, which means that the epidemic could last until April.