LJUBLJANA, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Slovenia has registered record high numbers of new COVID-19 cases for the third consecutive day -- 834 in the past 24 hours, and 745 and 707 on the previous two days -- bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 11,517, according to official figures released on Friday.
The 14-day incidence rate is 258 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, up 12.3 percent. There are 5,413 active cases. Hospitalizations have risen to 242, with 45 patients in intensive care. Four new deaths took the toll to 180.
The government's COVID-19 spokesperson, Jelko Kacin, noted that slightly fewer tests were conducted on Thursday (5,196) than on Wednesday (5,287), and the rate of positive tests was an all-time high of 16 percent.
Kacin said the government was expected to announce new measures late on Friday, after new restrictions kicked in as of Friday in the country's so-called "red" regions.
Two more of Slovenia's 12 statistical regions have been turned from "orange" into "red" on the coronavirus incidence meter, which means that lockdown restrictions now apply in nine regions in total.
Bars, restaurants and sports facilities will close in all "red" regions on Saturday as part of the tightened coronavirus measures.
As the world is struggling to control the pandemic, countries across the globe -- among them European Union member states, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States -- are racing to find a vaccine.
According to the website of the World Health Organization, as of Oct. 15, there were 198 COVID-19 candidate vaccines being developed worldwide, and 42 of them were in clinical trials. Enditem
