Ljubljana - The anti-viral drug molnupiravir will be available for treatment of Covid-19 in Slovenia expectedly from Monday after doses for over 5,700 treatments have already arrived in the country.

The medicine will be prescribed to adults, except pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, who are likely to develop a severe form of Covid-19.

The drug can prevent a severe form of Covid-19 or death in people whose medical condition is a reason to conclude they could fall seriously ill or die, Tatjana Lejko Zupanc, head of UKC Ljubljana's Department of Infectious Diseases, told the press on Wednesday.

The medicine in the form of tablets is taken orally. Health Minister Janez Poklukar said this was key because the drugs used so far had to be administered intravenously.

The drug will be first available at four hospitals, UKC Ljubljana and UKC Maribor, Celje General Hospital and the Golnik Clinic for Respiratory Diseases.

Relatives of the patient who will be prescribed the drug will be able to pick it there. The drug will become available at all the other Covid hospitals a few days later.

The drug will be prescribed by the doctor who will first come in contact with the infected person after consulting another doctor from Covid hospitals. Both will have to agree. The patient and the doctor will also have to sign consent, said Lejko Zupan, explaining this was the case because the drug was not registered yet.

The Medical Chamber organised training for doctors on Tuesday, the same day when Slovenia's medical ethics committee said the Lagevrio drug brought significant progress in fighting the coronavirus epidemic.

Even if the drug is not yet registered, the European Medicines Agency recommended Lagevrio, also known as molnupiravir, for coronavirus treatment on 19 November.

The number of coronavirus cases and patients at Slovenian hospitals is dropping, but today's news conference heard the epidemiological situation is still "serious".