In the past 24 hours 1,248 coronavirus cases and two related deaths have been confirmed in Slovenia as public protests against tighter restrictions continued in Ljubljana on Saturday.

Dozens of people gathered outside parliament in the morning to protest against mandatory COVID certificates.

On Thursday, peaceful demonstrations by thousands of people turned into incidents, while regular, peaceful cyclist protests against the government were held in downtown Ljubljana on Friday.

The government’s harshest critics demand that it step down.

In the past 24 hours, one in five coronavirus tests has come back positive and the 14-day incidence has increased to 614. Epidemiologists don’t expect infections and hospitalisations to drop before mid-October.

There are 360 hospitalised COVID patients, 12 more than on Friday.

Despite a higher interest in vaccination due to the tighter restrictions, the immunisation rate remains low at 45.8% of adults.