Slovenia has reported 1,034 new coronavirus cases and 19 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours as the fourth wave of the epidemic is showing signs of subsiding.

A total of 2,226 tests conducted in the last 24 hours have confirmed 1,034 infections, which is considerably fewer than a week ago when 1,389 new cases were reported, with a test positivity rate of 50.9 per cent, the Slovenian government said on Monday.

The seven-day average of new infections per day has decreased to 2,330 and the 14-day incidence has dropped to 1,821 cases per 100,000 people, while the number of active cases has declined to 38,387.

Currently, 1,156 COVID patients are being treated in hospitals and 279 of them are in intensive care, with government projections indicating that this number should not exceed 300 and should reach its peak this week.

According to the projections, the fourth wave of the epidemic is expected to start to decline, easing the burden on the hospital system. The emergence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and the unsatisfactory vaccination rate were cited as risk factors.

According to the data provided by the government, 58 per cent of Slovenians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, 54.4 per cent have received two doses, while 285,185 people of the total population of 2.1 million have received a third booster dose.