Slovenia's Covid-19 cases top 400,000

Ljubljana, Nov 22 (IANS) Slovenia has reported 2,245 new Covid-19 cases in the latest 24-hour span, taking the national tally to 400,667.

On Saturday, 4,739 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests were performed, of which 47.4 per cent came back positive, according to the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ).

Nineteen new deaths took the national death toll to 5,378, government data showed.

The seven-day average of new cases was down by 18 to 3,203. NIJZ estimates there are currently 44,629 active infections in the country, Xinhua news agency reported.

Slovenia, which has 2.1 million citizens, has been badly hit by the pandemic. At present, 1,126 Covid-19 patients are hospitalized and 269 need intensive care, according to government data.

The government has been calling upon citizens to get vaccinated against Covid-19. So far only 54 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated.