There have been only 247 new coronavirus infections and eight related fatalities in Slovenia in the past 24 hours, and considering the positive trends, the government may decide to lift the current curfew and allow hospitals to restore their regular work regime.

There are still 584 COVID-19 patients in hospitals and their number is continuing to fall. Under a government exit strategy, hospitals have already stopped taking in such patients and are restoring their regular work regime, Health Ministry official Alenka Forte told a news conference.

Under that strategy, once there are fewer than 100 hospitalised COVID-19 patients in the country, they will be treated only in the biggest hospitals in Ljubljana and Maribor and in the Golnik hospital for respiratory diseases.

In the meantime, the ministry has recommended that hospitals keep 10% of available beds and wards for COVID-19 patients until further notice.

According to the ministry data, there are only 11,032 active cases of the infection in the country, half the number of a couple of weeks ago, and the number of infections per 100,000 population in the past two weeks has dropped to 522.

Slovenia has thus dropped from third place of the most affected European countries to fifth place, but the government warns the epidemiological situation could deteriorate if citizens disregard the restrictions in force.

Last weekend was the first without a ban on movement outside one's place of residence and all shopping malls were open as well.

Face masks, physical distancing and disinfection are compulsory in shops.

Not all people aged over 80 have been vaccinated and neither has all health staff, while the remaining unvaccinated medical workers are being invited to get vaccinated.

Another 22,230 doses of the Pfizer vaccine arrived in Slovenia on Monday, and by Sunday a total of 94,304 people or slightly less than 5% of the population were vaccinated.