Ljubljana - Slovenia logged 2,939 new coronavirus cases on Monday in what is a nearly-four-month high. The figure was up 6% week-on-week. One Covid patient died, shows fresh official data.

Yesterday's case count is the highest since 4 April.

There are currently 86 patients hospitalised with Covid as their primary condition, down by eight in daily comparison, including eight in intensive care, same as the day before.

Data by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) shows that the 7-day average of new daily cases rose by 28 in a day to 1,624 as the 14-incidence rate per 100,000 of the population grew by 29 to 1,064.

The NIJZ estimates there are currently more than 22,500 active cases in the country, roughly 600 more than the day before and 2,300 more in weekly comparison.

Janez Žibert from the Ljubljana Faculty of Health Sciences told the STA that the summer epidemic wave has plateaued in Slovenia, since the 7-day average has been around 1,600 for a week now, and the increase in the number of daily confirmed infections has stopped.

He estimates that the number of infections in the country is in fact four times higher than the number of officially confirmed cases, and the long duration of the latest wave, he said, can be attributed mainly to this.

It is difficult to predict exactly how long the plateau period will last. Model projections suggest that it could last for some time, and then the numbers should start to decline.

Žibert estimates that during this wave, the number of cases in Slovenian hospitals should not exceed the critical numbers of the previous waves. A sudden rise in infections is also not expected, he added.