STA, 9 November 2020 - Slovenia logged 464 new coronavirus cases for Sunday as the share of tests returning positive results inched lower still to 22.49%. However, the number of patients hospitalised with Covid-19 has increased and another 24 have died.
Data released by the government show that a total of 2,063 Sars-CoV-2 tests were performed on Sunday, when testing is as a rule scaled down.
Speaking at the daily press briefing on Monday, spokesman Jelko Kacin said the most encouraging piece of news today was that the R0 number had fallen to 0.95, meaning that one infected person passes on the virus to fewer than one other person.
The number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals has increased to 1,143, including 190 in intensive care units, which compares to 1,125 and 176, respectively, the day before. 53 patients were discharged home yesterday.
However, even there Kacin offered graphs showing that the curve of daily discharges is climbing and nearing the falling curve of new admissions. The latter fell from the peak of 160 on 6 November to fewer than 100.
According to tracker site covid-19.sledilnik.org, the rolling 14-day average of cases per 100,000 residents has dropped to 1,026.
The country's coronavirus case count has increased to 45,625, but the number of active cases has dropped to 21,514.
The death toll has increased to 578.
Region-wise, Kacin noted that the situation in the worst-affected Gorenjska region was on the mend, while it was worsening in Pomurje in the north-east.
Listing some of the hotspots, Kacin said that Beltinci, a municipality with a population of some 8,200, recorded 30 new infections yesterday, which compares to 40 in the capital Ljubljana.
New premises for Covid-19 patients opened in UKC Ljubljana
STA, 9 November 2020 - The UKC Ljubljana hospital opened on Sunday new premises for Covid-19 patients which currently feature 56 beds. The location may be expanded to receive up to 100 patients.
Announcing the opening in a video statement, UKC Ljubljana director general Janez Poklukar said that the facilities had been made ready in only ten days, as the country is rushing to secure additional beds for Covid-19 patients.
Poklukar added that the new premises in Slovenia's main hospital were also fully equipped when it came to providing food, cleaning, waste collection and logistics.
If the condition of some of the patients deteriorates and they need intensive care, this will be provided at the same location.
The new premises currently feature two zones, and the plan is to have a total of six zones for Covid-19 patients, each being able to receive 25 patients, Poklukar said.
The development is seen as an important part of efforts to fight the epidemic and when Prime Minister Janez Janša visited UKC Ljubljana on 28 October, he urged for a quick transformation of the premises.
Spanning more than 1,700 square metres, the space had been left undeveloped for over a decade, with the plan being that it house a diagnostic and therapeutic service complex.
Poklukar said the UKC Ljubljana employees had been waiting for 12 years for the new premises to be finished, adding that eventually, the extension to the main building would house 44 intensive care units and four operating theatres.
Tatjana Lejko Zupanc, the head of the UKC Ljubljana Department of Infectious Diseases, added that all beds intended for Covid-19 patients in the hospital were occupied, while there were some beds left in the intensive care unit.
Speaking at the daily government briefing today, Poklukar said that the hospital would start immediately accommodating patients there. "If necessary, we'll get involved in resolving the situation in Pomurje."
The eastern Pomurje region has seen an uptick in infections and hospital admissions in recent days and the Murska Sobota Hospital is close to capacity.
Beyond that, Poklukar said the new space would be helpful in the exit strategy, as Covid-19 patients will be concentrated there once the hospital figures start to decline so that other health services can be relaunched when other departments currently housing Covid-19 patients are emptied.
The new space was fully furnished by the contractor for EUR 2.4 million. The hospital had to buy additional beads and equipment, bringing the price tag to EUR 3.3 million. Some of the equipment has been relocated from other parts of the hospital, some was provided by the Civil Protection.
Poklukar thanked everyone involved in getting the new space ready, among them the Civil Protection, the army, the Ljubljana municipality and the hospital employees. "I'm sure UKC Ljubljana currently has the best team it has ever had."
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