Slovenia on Monday confirmed 287 new coronavirus cases, which is fewer than on Sunday, but the number of hospitalisations has increased considerably.

A total of 1,174 PCR tests have been carried out in the last 24 hours, of which 287, or 16.2 percent, returned positive, while the number of hospitalised people has increased by 27 to 526, of whom 111 are in intensive care, the government said.

The seven-day average of new cases has been on the rise for the last two weeks, reaching 949, and the number of active cases now stands at 12,424.

Six people have died since Sunday, bringing the country’s COVID-19 death toll since the start of the epidemic last year to 4,024. A total of 191,217 people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to date, the Health Ministry said.

New measures announced

As of Monday, travelers from red-zone countries can enter Slovenia only with a negative PCR test.

In efforts to contain the infection, the government has decided to put the country into lockdown from April 1 to April 11.

The aim of this decision is to reduce the number of new cases in the strong third wave of the epidemic, while at the same time trying to vaccinate as many people as possible, infectious diseases specialist Bojana Beovic said.

The measures entering into force on Thursday include a ban on travel between statistical regions and to red-zone countries, with the exception of people who have been vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19. School classes will be held online and most service businesses will shut down. State companies and institutions have been recommended to operate remotely.

During the lockdown period, socialising will be forbidden, except on Easter Sunday when up to six persons from two households, including children from the same families, will be allowed to get together. Wearing face masks outdoors will be mandatory again.