Slovenia confirmed 88 new cases of coronavirus over the past 24 hours on Tuesday, the highest number of new cases since 17 June, with health authorities urging for the need to step up the nation's vaccination drive.

The government has decided that one of the ways to step up inoculation is to abolish free tests for citizens as of 23 August, except for people who cannot be vaccinated, healthcare workers, or those in aged-care facilities, “and so on,” Croatia’s state agency Hina reported.

Slovenia has so far spent €50 million on antigen tests, and almost €70 million on PCR tests, while the cost of hospital care for Covid patients has reached about €200 million, Health Minister, Janez Poklukar said on Tuesday.

For that reason, the number of locations where testing will be available will be reduced, except for special categories who are eligible for free testing. The government is also preparing new regulation which will limit the price of tests to a maximum of €12.

Slovenian authorities said that they have registered a large number of imported cases, including 42 from Croatia and 57 from Spain. The share of the new Delta strain of the coronavirus is increasing, as well.

On Tuesday, no Covid-related deaths have been reported in Slovenia, for the eighth day in a row. The seven-day average of new cases is now 54 while the number of active cases in the country has increased to 799.