Over the past 24 hours, Slovenia has confirmed 516 new cases of coronavirus infection and five related deaths, and measures could be tightened due to the negative trend, despite protests against restrictions.

This is the beginning of a third wave, epidemiologist Mateja Logar wrote on Twitter, adding that new anti-epidemic measures will be needed if the current trend continues.

The number of new infections in the last 24 hours went up by over 7% week-on-week, the percentage of positive tests is still very high, at 18.1%, and the average number of daily infections is increasing, and is 813 for the past seven days, the government said.

The number of active cases stands at 10,555, there are 473 COVID patients in hospitals, 93 of whom are in intensive care units, and the death toll has gone up to 3,972.

According to data from the health ministry, 186,170 people have been vaccinated to date, and of them, 104,042 have received both doses.

Dissatisfaction with the long-standing restrictions in Slovenia is still present, so protest rallies were staged in Ljubljana and Maribor on Saturday, with several hundred people taking part.

As carried by Slovenian media outlets, if negative epidemiological trends continue, epidemiologists will suggest that the government decrease the number of people allowed to socialise together. Currently, a maximum of ten persons from two households are allowed to socialise together.