Slovenia has confirmed 3,349 new coronavirus cases and six COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours.

A total of 7,416 tests were carried out in the last 24 hours and 3,349 of them returned positive, or 45.2 per cent. This is much worse than seven days ago when 2,529 new infections were recorded with a test positivity rate of 41.8 per cent, the National Institute of Public Health said on Sunday.

According to experts from the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Ljubljana, the number of detected infections has doubled in a week. The fifth wave of the epidemic will be relatively short and will peak at the end of this month or the beginning of the next, local media quoted them as saying.

According to data from the Health Ministry, the seven day average of daily cases increased by 12 per cent to 3,463 cases and the 14-day incident increased to 1,646 cases per 100,000 people. The number of active cases stands at 34,705.

Vaccination is still progressing slowly, with 56.7 per cent of the population having been fully vaccinated.

Currently, 538 infected persons are being treated in hospitals, including 156 who are in intensive care. The six persons who died in the last 24 hours have brought the total death toll to 5,650.

New protocols and measures adjusted to the new, more infectious Omicron variant of the coronavirus are coming into force on Monday. The validity of negative tests required for entry into the country has been shortened to 48 hours for PCR tests and 24 hours for rapid antigen tests. The duration of quarantine after risky contact has been shortened from 10 to seven days.