Fourth COVID-19 wave plateauing in Slovenia

Slovenia had an early fourth-wave surge in coronavirus infections, but the latest figures show the situation is stabilising. Nevertheless, the caseload remains above what most European countries are currently experiencing.

Last week the country recorded around 16,300 new cases, down by about a quarter on the week before. The overall number of patients in hospitals has also steadied, although it still remains high.

Intensive care beds are still almost fully occupied, with 279 patients in intensive care as of yesterday.

The country still has one of the highest 14-day case notification rates per 100,000 population, at 1,821. However, this is down from a peak of nearly 2,200.

The improvement is not the result of more vaccination, which has remained low at under 55% of the entire population.

Rather, it is attributed to stricter compliance with COVID pass rules and the fact that the number of people susceptible to COVID-19 is shrinking due to the high number of infections. More than a fifth of Slovenians have had a confirmed case of COVID-19, one of the highest rates in the world.

(Sebastijan R. Maček | sta.si)