The coronavirus disease may peak in mid-July in Slovakia (news digest)

Farmers ask people not to promenade on fields, while a furniture producer lays off most staff. Read the overview of news from March 30.

New measures came in force on March 30, resulting in people waiting in queues in front of several shops.New measures came in force on March 30, resulting in people waiting in queues in front of several shops. (Source: SME)

This is your overview of news from March 30.
For all news about the coronavirus in Slovakia click here.
To read about the measures currently in place in Slovakia click here and here.
To read about the recent economic measures click here.
For your overview of last week's events, read Last Week in Slovakia.

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CORONAVIRUS IN SLOVAKIA UPDATES

  • Bojnice hospital closed its pulmonary department and put its medical staff and patients in quarantine after a 60-year-old patient died shortly after being released for home care on March 30. The real cause of death should be determined by the autopsy.
  • Altogether 120 patients positively diagnosed with the coronavirus disease have been hospitalised, with three at the Intensive Care Unit. None of them is on artificial lung ventilation.
  • The coronavirus pandemic in Slovakia should achieve its peak in 110 days, i.e. in mid-July, according to the Institute of Health Policy running under the Health Ministry. It expects about 3.1 percent of the population, i.e. some 170,000 people, to be infected. The number is lower than in the previous prediction, also thanks to the adoption of stricter measures.
  • Blood donation dropped by 74 percent in Slovakia, according to the National Transfusion Service (NTS). Health Minister Marek Krajčí (OĽaNO) and NTS head Renáta Dundová thus call on people to donate blood.
  • Farmers have asked people not to promenade through the fields during the harvest. “Whole families camp on wheat, walk on oilseed rape or go to the vineyards with prams,” said Andrea Zahradníková of the Regional Agricultural and Food Chamber in Bratislava, criticising the behaviour of some people during the coronavirus pandemic. (TASR)

The whole families camp on wheat, walk on the oilseed rape or go to the vineyards with prams.

Andrea Zahradníková of the Regional Agricultural and Food Chamber in Bratislava

BUSINESS NEWS UPDATES

  • Slovak economy is expected to drop by 6.1 percent in constant prices by the end of this year. This stems from the March macroeconomic prediction of selected commercial banks, published by the National Bank of Slovakia.
  • The consumer mood in Slovakia was more optimistic at the beginning of March than the month before. The seasonally adjusted indicator of consumer confidence increased by 3.3 points compared with February 2020 to -7.8. (Statistics Office)
  • Kaufland will give €1.13 million to its employees as a special bonus to their March salary. Lidl will redistribute nearly €1 million, while Tesco will provide its staff with a special bonus for March and April. It has not revealed the sum yet. (SME)
  • Tesco has employed more than 850 temporary employees due to the increased demand for food and online shopping. The retailer created flexible jobs for fixed period.
  • The SITA newswire will launch a crisis regime due to the drop in incomes. It will dismiss some of its staff and temporarily decrease salaries. Also the Aktuality.sk website reported a massive drop in their ad revenues. (Denník N)
  • UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia is the first bank to increase the interest rates of mortgages to 1.09 percent for loans with a three-year fixed period, to 1.19 percent for loans with four-year fixed period, and 1.29 percent of loans with five-year fixed period. (Index)
  • Furniture producer Decodom will dismiss 903 of its 1,170 employees. The reason is that the economic measures introduced by the government are insufficient and cover only a portion of the company’s costs. (SITA)

SPORT UPDATES

  • The MŠK Žilina football club declared bankruptcy and dismissed 17 top players after they failed to accept the club’s management request to reduce their salaries. This does not mean the club is ending. (SME)

Also in Spectator.sk today:

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Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


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