Three people died on Wednesday, the government said, always reporting the previous day’s figures, bringing the total death toll to 879. More than 60 patients were hospitalised for complications caused by a coronavirus infection, 51 in general care and 12 in intensive care.

The government on Monday announced it would switch to a so-called 2G system, effectively excluding unvaccinated people from public life by no longer accepting PCR and rapid antigen tests. Under the proposed law only vaccinated and recovered citizens will be granted entry to public establishments, such as bars, restaurants and the cinema; anywhere the CovidCheck system is deployed.

The 2G system should come into effect next week once parliament approves the plans. A mandatory 3G CovidCheck at the workplace, including testing, meanwhile is set to come into force on 15 January, the government announced on Friday.

In a weekly report published on Wednesday, the health ministry said infections were up 25% the week from 22 to 28 November, from 1,897 cases diagnosed the week before to 2,373. Half of those diagnosed were not vaccinated (1,237), while 1,136 people had received their jabs.

However, the infection rate for those unvaccinated was at 571.26 per 100,000 people compared to a rate of 271.77 per 100,000 for those fully vaccinated.

More people in hospital

Fewer people were being treated in hospital last week, at 43 patients, up from 39 the previous week (15 to 21 November). The average age of patients was 58. Of those hospitalised, 11 people were in intensive care, up by one from the previous week.

Of those in intensive care, six were considered fully vaccinated by the government and five non-vaccinated, having had one or no injections. However, the government did not indicate the age of the intensive care patients, how long ago they had completed their first vaccination cycle, whether they had received a booster shot, or any pre-existing conditions.

In total, 12.1% of hospital intensive care beds were occupied by confirmed covid-19 patients last week, up 1% from the preceding week.

Despite the rise in infections, the R number decreased from 1.20 to 1.16, above a 1 target threshold. The R number represents the total number of people an infected person is likely to infect on average.

More than 12,000 people were either isolated because of an active infection or quarantined after being in direct contact with someone who contracted the virus.

In the 7-day period commencing 22 November, 11 people are reported to have died after testing positive for Sars-CoV-1, up from three the previous week, with an average age of 77.

The total vaccination rate for citizens 12 years and over is 77.4%, according to figures published by the Ministry of Health on 26 November.