A total of 4,085 new coronavirus infections have been confirmed in Slovenia in the past 24 hours, and the significant rise in the number of new cases, much higher than earlier estimates, is attributed to the spreading of the Omicron variant. 

A total of 10,577 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours, and the test positivity rate is 38.7 percent, much higher than a week ago, when there were 1,871 new cases and when one in three tests was positive.

The Omicron variant is expected to account for more than 50 percent of new cases as early as the end of this week or the beginning of next.

According to the latest projections, the fast spreading of the Omicron variant is expected to result in around 8,500-9,000 new infections a day in early February.

The government is expected to make new decisions to curb the epidemic by the end of the week, but the introduction of mandatory vaccination is still not on the table and neither is shorter quarantine for those who have been in contact with infected persons, the local media said.

There is still no agreement among epidemiologists on mandatory vaccination, which is also opposed by a large portion of the public.

Shortening the quarantine period to five days, on the condition one tests negative, is opposed by the national public health institute given the continued presence of the Delta variant, which is less contagious than Omicron but may cause more severe symptoms and hospitalization.

According to the Health Ministry, 542 persons are currently hospitalized for Covid-19, six patients have died in the last 24 hours, and there are 23,041 active cases.

Most of the newly infected are young people with less severe symptoms but epidemiologists fear transmission among older active generations.

The seven-day daily average of new infections has increased to 2,058 while the 14-day incidence is 1,093.

Officials and epidemiologists continue to warn about the need to get vaccinated as the current vaccination rate is insufficient.