Ljubljana - Slovenia logged 774 coronavirus cases for Wednesday from almost 4,230 PCR tests for a positivity rate of slightly over 18%, an improvement from Wednesday last week. Three Covid-19 patients died, shows government figures released on Thursday. Online registration was meanwhile launched for residents who want to get a jab.

Wednesday's daily count of new coronavirus cases compares to almost 920 new cases a week ago and to a positivity rate of just over 20%.

More than 27,800 people were screened with rapid antigen tests yesterday, but all positive tests are double-checked with PCR tests.

The 7-day average of new cases dropped significantly - from 750 to 729 in a day.

The situation in hospitals continues to gradually improve as the overall number of patients declined by 9 to 551, of whom 139 are in intensive care, down by two.

Coronavirus spokesperson Maja Bratuša told the press the figures were more encouraging than yesterday but the country was still far from progressing to the yellow tier of restrictions.

To leave the orange tier behind, the number of hospitalisations must fall below 500 and the seven-day average of new cases below 600.

The highest 14-day cumulative incidence per 100,000 residents is in Primorsko-Notranjska region, south, and the lowest in the coastal region.

Bratuša presented data on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants, saying 51 strains had been detected from over 7,330 samples sequenced between 1 January and 4 May.

The British variant remains the most widely spread in Slovenia accounting for over 90% of all analysed samples. The South African variant was confirmed in five cases. A new case of the Brazilian strain was also confirmed, bringing the tally to two.

To enhance vaccination, the authorities have introduced a website on the e-health portal where residents can register to get a jab, while those who have already registered with their GPs do not have to do it again.

Health Minister Janez Poklukar said the idea was to enable as many people as possible to get vaccinated, saying the registration was safe in terms of privacy as it does not provide access to personal medical records.

Once registered, residents will receive an SMS from a vaccination centre, which they will not be able to choose on their own, but it will be selected near one's GP.

With the new app, the option of registering on the eUprava portal has been abolished, with the registrations from there transferred onto the new online central registry.