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Nuška Čakš Jager: Vaccination should be expanded to the entire population

The press conference on the current situation regarding COVID-19 was attended by Nuška Čakš Jager, the deputy head of the Communicable Diseases Centre of the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), and Doroteja Štruc, the head of the healthcare programme and vaccination coordinator in the vaccination centre of the Celje Community Health Centre.
Nuška Čaks Jager

Nuška Čaks Jager | Author UKOM

The government adopted a decision at yesterday's correspondence session to the effect that, for entry into Slovenia without quarantine at home, negative PCR test results can be recognised at A category checkpoints for international airline transport if they are issued in Serbia or Turkey, said government spokesperson Maja Bratuša.

A total of 4,024 PCR tests and 44,775 rapid antigen tests were carried out yesterday. 894 new infections were confirmed with PCR tests, for a test positivity rate of 22.2%. According to the data published by the NIJZ today, the 7-day infection average was 675 (661 yesterday). The occupancy of Covid-19 units in hospitals is still high and not changing significantly. A total of 584 patients are being treated in hospitals today, of whom 143 are in intensive care. 74 patients were discharged from hospital yesterday, and 4 people died.

A high increase in the number of confirmed cases on a weekly basis has been detected, in particular in Southeast Asia, said Nuška Čakš Jager. India recorded the largest number of cases between 19 and 25 April. In the EU member states, the trend is decreasing, although the number is nevertheless rising. A significant increase in new infections is recorded in certain countries, particularly in Croatia and Cyprus. It is worrying that all countries report high occupancy of hospital beds, including those in intensive care units.

Nuška Čakš Jager recommends that vaccination should be expanded to the entire population. A decline in infections is being currently recorded amongst the elderly and residents of care homes who have already been vaccinated. Vaccination is thus already largely paying dividends among the risk groups.

Doroteja Šmuc presented the arrangements for vaccination in the vaccination centre of the Celje Community Health Centre. Everybody who is invited for vaccination must bring their health insurance cards with them and a vaccination certificate, if they have one. Everybody who wants to be vaccinated can register themselves on the website of the vaccination centre. Despite the tremendous workload on the healthcare staff and a lot of paperwork, they are still highly motivated and ready to vaccinate as many people as possible.