Although the fourth wave of the Covid-19 epidemic in Slovenia has been showing slight signs of abating in recent days, the health minister warned on Wednesday of the possible fifth wave in February if the country failed to increase the relatively low vaccination rate.

In the last 24 hours, 3,144 new coronavirus cases and 11 Covid-related deaths have been registered, with a test positivity rate of 36.5 per cent, the National Public Health Institute said.

By comparison, 3,394 new infections and 23 deaths and a test positivity rate of 49.2 per cent were reported on Tuesday, indicating that the epidemiological situation has begun to calm down both on a weekly and on a daily basis.

Despite the signs of possible abatement, Health Minister Janez Poklukar warned of the possible fifth wave of the epidemic in February unless the restrictions were complied with and the vaccination rate increased considerably.

“The most important thing is for all people aged above 50 to get vaccinated,” the health minister said, noting that it was this age group that most often ended up in hospital if not vaccinated.

Fifty-four per cent of Slovenia’s total population is fully vaccinated. Currently, there are 43,457 active cases in the country, which is 1,339 fewer than on Tuesday. The seven-day daily average of cases is 2,928, while the 14-day incidence per 100,000 people is 2,062. A total of 1,168 infected people are currently being treated in hospitals and 279 of them are intensive care, 1.4 per cent fewer than on Tuesday, according to data provided by the Health Ministry.