There have been 860 new coronavirus infections and 5 more deaths in Slovenia over the past 24 hours, local health authorities reported on Friday.

The government has decided to add students in their final year of secondary education to the list of vaccination priority groups, in order to make their preparations for school-leaving exams easier – they will be vaccinated on a voluntary basis and will get vaccinated together with their parents, Health Ministry official, Vesna Kerstin-Petric, told a news conference on Friday.

The vaccination will start by the end of next week. Kerstin-Petric also said that the government will also prioritize parents of children suffering from with chronic illnesses.

The number of new cases is down by about a third from seven days ago, when it stood at 1,279.

The situation in hospitals is still difficult, with 639 patients in hospital care, 15 up from Thursday, with 152 patients in intensive care units, two more than on Thursday.

So far 360,450 Slovenians have received the first dose of the vaccine, while 136,582 have received both doses, which accounts for 6.5 percent of the population, the national public health institute has reported.