In the last 24 hours, there have been 1,227 new cases of coronavirus infection in Slovenia, with the share of positive tests reaching nearly 22%, while the disease has claimed five more lives, the Slovenian government said on its Twitter account on Wednesday.

The government estimates that while the new case numbers seem to have reached a plateau, hospitals are still under pressure, with more and more COVID patients arriving. Currently, 420 COVID patients are receiving hospital treatment and 122 of them are in intensive care. The number of active cases currently stands at 11,513.

The current 14-day incidence rate is 546 per 100,000 people, which is why the government hopes that Slovenia could soon be labelled red on the ECDC COVID map, after being dark red.

According to the latest figures, only 49.8% of the Slovenian population have been double vaccinated.

Health Minister Janez Poklukar has expressed hope that the interest in inoculation will increase following the government’s decision to use only mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 (Pfizer-Biontech and Moderna), while vector vaccines (AstraZeneca and Johnson&Johnson) will be used only exceptionally or on request.