Slovenia has registered 666 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, which is 103 fewer than a week ago, and another seven persons have died from COVID-19, bringing the total death toll to 5,542, the National Public Health Institute said on Sunday.

The test positivity rate was 30.9 per cent, and the seven day case average was 1,069 per day. The number of active cases currently stands at 16,072, and 577 infected people are receiving hospital treatment, including 197 who are in intensive care.

Some projections indicate that a new upward trend in the epidemic could be expected at the start of the New Year because of the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the virus.

“Around New Year's Day we expect a new rise in the epidemic because of the fast spread of the Omicron variant. That will also affect the number of hospitalisations,” according to the Jožef Štefan Research Institute, which makes COVID-19 projections for the government.

Citing this institute, local media said that the Omicron variant might account for 60 per cent of new COVID infections at the start of the New Year and thus become the dominant variant.