Ljubljana - Slovenia recorded 1,439 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday as a record of more than 44,500 tests were performed amid increased requirements for mass rapid testing among several occupations. Still, the daily case count is down almost 8% from a week ago.

Fresh government data show that 5,061 PCR tests were performed yesterday and as many as 39,443 rapid antigen tests. Of those, 880 and 559, respectively, came back positive for positivity rates of 17.4% and 1.4%.

This was as rapid antigen tests continued to raise doubts amid repeated instances of school and kindergarten staff and others facing the requirement of regular weekly screening testing positive, only to have their results reversed through more reliable PCR tests.

Covid-19 hospitalisations dropped by 81 to 864 after 121 patients were discharged and 51 were newly admitted yesterday. 160 were in intensive care units this morning, two fewer than a day ago.

A further 13 patients with Covid-19 died yesterday, taking the overall death toll to 3,667, according to the tracker site covid-19.sledilnik.org.

The seven-day daily average of confirmed cases dropped to 827, show data released by the government and the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ).

As both the 7-day average of new daily cases and hospitalisations are well below 1,000, the government is expected to give a go-ahead for new easing of restrictions as it meets later today.

Under the government colour-coded strategy, moving down to the orange tier of restrictions would allow all primary pupils and final year secondary students to return to schools, and colleges could return to in-person exams and seminars for up to 10 participants.

The orange phase also allows reopening of further services and stores, gatherings of up to 10 people and lifting the ban on travel outside municipality of residence.

The cumulative 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents is 663 and is nearing the European average that is currently just above 400, Nuška Čakš Jager, deputy chief infectiologist with the NIJZ, told Wednesday's press briefing.

She welcomed the falling trend, but said the virus was still present in the population and the situation was not that good: "We cannot relax everything as soon as the situation improves." She said every cold-like symptom should be taken seriously.

The official noted a "drastic" decline in new infections among care home residents with no case recorded on Monday and only three between 6 and 8 February. Fatalities are falling as well.

The cumulative 7-day incidence per 100,000 is 276. Region-wise, the 7-day incidence is the highest in Pomurska (316), Posavska (309) and Primorsko-Notranjska (305). Only four of the 12 statistical regions are below the national average.

Slovenia has reported 175,795 coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, with an estimated 13,962 still active cases, NIJZ data show.