Ljubljana - Another 937 coronavirus cases were confirmed in 5,502 PCR tests in Slovenia on Thursday for a positivity rate of 17%. Hospitalisations were up by 23 to 485 this morning, with 88 patients in intensive care, three more than the day before. Ten deaths were recorded, fresh government data show. The 7-day average of daily new cases continued to rise.

In addition to PCR tests, 25,564 rapid antigen tests were also conducted yesterday with all the positives there re-examined with PCR tests.

According to Maja Bratuša, the government Covid-19 spokesperson, 62 new patients were admitted to hospital yesterday, which is the highest number since early February. A total of 29 people were discharged from hospital.

The country's biggest hospital, UKC Ljubljana, currently treats 144 Covid-19 patients, including 27 in ICU, Bratuša said.

Mateja Logar, the head of the Covid-19 advisory group, noted that infections were again rising in the groups of people over 55, who often need hospitalisation. Those in the oldest age groups no longer fall ill because many have been vaccinated.

The pressure on hospitals is thus increasing again, which means that the closing of Covid-19 hospital sections will be stopped, she indicated. This also means that the treatment of non-urgent medical conditions will not be able to resume as quickly as expected.

The seven-day average of daily new cases in the country rose by 23 to 776 on Thursday.

Three of Slovenia's twelve regions are currently in the yellow phase, but the situation in Primorsko-Notranjska and Southeast Slovenia is deteriorating, said Bratuša, adding that the situation seemed to be stable in the Posavska region.

The 14-day incidence per 100,000 residents also rose, by two to 488, and is currently the lowest in the Posavska region (at 245) and the highest in Koroška (at 651).

Data from the tracker site Covid Sledilnik show that the number of active cases in the country is currently at 10,315.

Logar believes the reason the epidemiological situation is deteriorating is not schools or bar terraces, as no increase in cases stemming from these two areas has been detected.

Most probably, the problem is the new variants of coronavirus, especially the more contagious British strain, she said.

She noted that the intensive care units were increasingly accepting patients who returned from former Yugoslavian countries after visiting relatives there.

The Covid-19 advisory group has so far not discussed introducing any stricter measures for Easter if the situation deteriorated, Logar said. The group will discuss the hospitalisation trends on Monday, she added.

She also stressed the importance of vaccination and the safety and efficiency of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is being used again after a green light from the European Medicines Agency.

Data from the national registry of vaccinated persons show that 179,351 persons have so far received the first shot of a coronavirus vaccine and 99,266 have been fully immunised. Today, MPs and top state officials are being vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Slovenia has so far recorded 204,479 coronavirus infections, show data by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ).