STA, 16 July - In what upholds a relatively flat curve of new cases, 19 Sars-CoV-2 infections were confirmed in Slovenia in 1,032 tests conducted on Wednesday. The number of people in hospital rose by two to 18, with one patient in intensive care, show government data released on Thursday.
No new deaths due to Covid-1' were reported, meaning the death toll remains 111, while the total number of confirmed infections rose to 1,897.
The latest number of new cases matches Tuesday's, while ten infections were confirmed in Monday's testing after the previous two weeks also saw two spikes of 30 and 34 cases.
Meanwhile, four new infections were confirmed today in Hrastnik, which is being mentioned as a hotspot, having a total of 23 active infections, among them five elderly care home residents and five staff.
Hrastnik Mayor Marko Funkl told the STA that the four new cases detected today included a staff member and three residents of the elderly care home.
He added that a health inspector was in town today inspecting the situation at local pubs, the source of the outbreak that started last week.
Funkl also reiterated that the care home needed help from the government in ensuring sufficient health care staff. He said he was contacted by the Health Ministry about the issue today, but no help was promised as yet.
Meanwhile, Social Affairs Minister Janez Cigler Kralj told the press before the weekly government session that everything was going according to protocol at the Hrastnik elderly care home and that the home was in constant contact with the ministries of health and social affairs.
He also said that the government would provide aid in form of more staff to its best abilities.
...Survey shows only 27% willing to use contact tracing app
STA, 16 July 2020 - Only about a quarter of Slovenians are willing to use a contact tracing mobile app designed to stop the spread of coronavirus, suggests a survey conducted on a sample of 566 persons between 10 and 13 July.
For the app to achieve its goal, it would have to be used by at least 50% to 60% of the population. However, only 10% of respondents told pollster Valicon that they would definitely install it to their devices, while 17% said they would likely do so.
While some 17% of the respondents said they were undecided, more than a half have said they are unlikely to install such an app or that they would definitely not install it.
The likelihood of installation is higher among those who are more cautious about their health, BUT most of the people in this group are also unlikely to use it.
The assessed likelihood of installation climbs to 58% in the case that the individual had contracted the virus or had been ordered to quarantine. Nevertheless, some 30% are unlikely to install the app even in this case.
More than a half of the respondents said they do not believe the app will be a success. Less than 25% believe it will have no effect, while a third said the app could not contribute sufficiently to stop the spread of the virus.
On the other hand, nearly two thirds believe that the app could have an effect, while only 4% said it could actually stop coronavirus.
The survey also indicates a low level of trust for the government's reassurances that the app would be anonymous and that it would not be tracing the user's whereabouts.
