Slovenia has reported 1,558 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, which is an increase of nearly 50% on the previous day and the largest number in the last two months, while another seven COVID patients have died.

In the last 24 hours, 7,206 PCR tests have been performed, of which 1,558 returned positive, or 21.6%, the government announced on Twitter on Wednesday.

The average daily number of new cases in the past week has for the first time exceeded 1,000, reaching 1,001, and the number of active cases has increased to 13,031. Five hundred people infected with COVID-19 are hospitalised and 112 of them are in intensive care. The total death toll has risen to 4,047, according to Health Ministry data.

The marked deterioration in the epidemiological situation comes a day before an 11-day lockdown takes effect on 1 April, with which the government aims to contain the third wave of the epidemic which is mostly caused by the spread of the British variant of the virus.