Over the past 24 hours, 287 new coronavirus infections and seven related fatalities have been confirmed in Slovenia, and the government has noted that statistics on epidemiological trends show that a recent lockdown has yielded results even though hospitals are still filling with COVID-19 patients.

“We can say with moderate optimism that the exponential growth of the number of infections has slightly slowed down but that does not mean that we do not need any other measures,” epidemiologist Mateja Logar said in a comment on the situation following the 11-day lockdown.

Logar warned of further growth in the number of hospitalisations, notably in COVID-19 wards, warning that restrictions should continue to be adjusted to the situation.

What is still worrying is the fact that hospitals continue to fill with COVID-19 patients, and the number of hospitalised patients currently stands at 615, seven more than on Sunday. The number of people in critical condition has continued to grow as well, to 139.

According to the Slovenian Public Health Institute (NIJZ), so far 332,738 people have been vaccinated against coronavirus, and as much as 15% of the population has been inoculated with both doses.

The government’s vaccination coordinator, Jelko Kacin, has said that a central register of vaccination would be introduced soon to replace local registers.

Despite a certain degree of public mistrust in the AstraZeneca vaccine, Slovenia is still using that vaccine.

According to the NIJZ, 17,000 people who last week were invited to vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine did not respond even though according to the European Medicines Agency and Slovenian experts, the vaccine is safe and provides good protection.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is currently being used in Slovenia to inoculate people under 65, who receive the second dose three months after the first one. According to Kacin, this provides protection against COVID-19 for a total of nine months.