Ljubljana - The number of new coronavirus infections was down both in daily and weekly comparisons in Slovenia on Tuesday, as 3,144 people tested positive in what is a confirmation of a falling trend, but the situation in hospitals remains alarming. Another 11 patients died, the government has said.

A total of 1,168 Covid-19 patients are in hospital today, 14 more than yesterday, of whom 283 need intensive care, two fewer than yesterday, government data show.

As many as 206 patients are intubated and the average age at ICUs is 64.7, Health Ministry State Secretary Franc Vindišar said at today's press conference.

All 15 Covid-19 hospitals around the country operate as a single hospital in line with the principle of crisis management, meaning that capacities and staff are being rearranged based on the needs every day, he said.

The ICU capacities will continue to increase, especially at the UKC Ljubljana hospital's diagnostic and therapeutic centre, where a central intensive therapy is to be set up.

Staff is already being gathered, including from abroad. According to Vindišar, 30 medical workers are to arrive from other countries by the end of the week.

Today, 1,020 beds are available for Covid-19 patients at regular wards, of which 855 are occupied. In intensive care, 302 beds are available and 283 occupied.

The state secretary warned that this meant that all other programmes had been suspended and only emergency cases handled, patients with cancer and pregnant women. "At this point, we can no longer provide appropriate service in case of a larger natural or traffic accident with multiple casualties," he said.

The rolling 7-day average of new infections dropped further, by 162 to 2,928, and the cumulative 14-day incidence was down by 63 to 2,062.

The estimated number of active cases decreased by about 1,340 to 43,457, according to data from the National Institute of Public Health.

The PCR test positivity rate also started to drop, standing at 36.5% yesterday.