Ljubljana - The number of new coronavirus cases in Slovenia increased by more than 50% on a weekly basis as 1,704 cases were recorded on Wednesday, show data from the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ). The test positivity rate was up by more than two percentage points on a daily basis to 33.4%.

The number of active cases has been increasing as well in the last few days, rising by 367 to 16,895 today, the NIJZ said.

The 7-day average of new cases increased by 83 to 1,281 and the 14-day incidence per 100,000 people was up by 17 to 798.

According to the government, hospitalisations were up by two to 574 today, with 186 patients being in intensive care, or four fewer than yesterday. Seven Covid-19 patients died on Wednesday.

The youngest Covid-19 patient in ordinary wards is 28 years old, and the youngest patient in intensive care is 21 years old.

Regarding the new coronavirus variant omicron, the National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food (NLZOH) and the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology said that 93 cases have been confirmed in Slovenia so far.

In order to detect the omicron variant, the NLZOH examines between 70% and 100% of positive PCR test samples.

Although omicron is not yet the prevalent variant in Slovenia, it is likely contributing to the recent resurgence of coronavirus cases, said Matjaž Leskovar of the Jožef Stefan Institute.