According to information from the Slovenian government, in the past 24 hours there were 1,164 new coronavirus cases registered in the country, with 18.1 percent of tests conducted returning positive.

The daily average of new cases over the past seven days is now 887, and four more people have died as a consequence, bringing the total death toll to date to 3,988.

There are currently 501 hospitalized patients in the country, and their numbers are increasing. Exactly 107 patients are in intensive care units.

Health Minister, Janez Poklukar, said that Slovenia is now “well into the third wave of the coronavirus epidemic,” attributing the surge in cases to the prevalence of the new, more potent, British strain of the virus.

There has also been a significant increase in serious cases observed in younger patients.

Poklukar confirmed that the government has decided that as of Friday only people with a negative PCR test will be allowed to enter the country, i.e. rapid antigen tests will no longer be enough to travel into Slovenia.

He said that there would be “very few exceptions” to this rule, mainly for people who have cross-border land to farm, and on the condition that they return home within 10 hours. PCR tests will also be mandatory to clear people to come out of quarantine, meaning that spending time in isolation for a set number of days will no longer be enough to deem people healthy.