News digest: Coronavirus numbers in Slovakia on the rise, pandemic commission will convene

Read your overview of news from Thursday, August 6, 2020.

Several production plants in the Trenčín Region have been quarantined. Several production plants in the Trenčín Region have been quarantined. (Source: TASR)

This is your overview of news from Slovakia on Thursday, August 6. Buy our online subscription to help us continue supplying you with Slovak news you can trust.

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Coronavirus numbers up

Slovakia has seen 12 local coronavirus outbreaks this July, with a daily average of 21 new coronavirus infections.

On Thursday, the biggest number of coronavirus cases was reported in the country since April 22, at the height of the epidemic in Slovakia.

The public health authorities report 63 new positive coronavirus cases, occurring all around the country. The largest numbers were recorded in the Trenčín (15 cases) and Bánovce nad Bebravou (14) districts, followed by Bratislava with 10 new positive cases.

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The Trenčín and Bánovce numbers are linked to local outbreaks of the coronavirus in four production plants in the Trenčín Region, which has resulted in hundreds of people in quarantine.

"It is not a community spread of the COVID-19 disease, but rather a locally limited spread," said the Public Health Authority spokesperson Daša Račková, as quoted by the Sme daily.

The death toll also increased as of Thursday, when public health authorities confirmed a 71-year-old man died in the Trenčín hospital. Coronavirus has officially claimed 30 lives in Slovakia.

Three positive cases were also detected among the under-20's ice-hockey team.

A cook at the restaurant at Hrebienok in the Tatras has also been confirmed as coronavirus positive. The restaurant is closed and the staff are in quarantine.

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The government's pandemic commission will meet next week, and will also convene the consilium of epidemiologists if needed, the Health Ministry informed.

Specialised Criminal Court gets a new president

Ján Hrubala became the new chair of the Specialised Criminal Court. His term in office starts on August 7.

Justice Minister Mária Kolíková chose Hrubala from among three candidates who successfully passed the selection procedure.

In other news:

  • The Municipal Court in Prague ordered custody for entrepreneur Jozef Majský, the court spokesperson confirmed for the Sme daily. The Czech authorities now have two months to decide whether he should be extradited to Slovakia, where Majský faces a nine-year prison sentence.
  • Slovakia is ready to send help to Lebanon.
  • Slovakia too marked the anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear blasts. These events are "a living memento for today and strengthen our aim to achieve a world without nuclear weapons", the Foreign Affairs Ministry wrote in its statement. The ministry confirms Slovakia's support for the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
  • Only one in five job offers requires a university degree, recent analysis suggests.
  • Mental Health Park (Park dusevneho zdravia) is an event that starts in the city park in Piešťany on Thursday and will run until the end of the weekend. The event replaces the Grape festival that usually takes place around this time of year in the city.

Do not miss on Spectator.sk today:

All eyes are on Matovič. He is facing a major task Read more 

When we knelt in honour of Floyd, something inside me broke Read more 

Pandemic increased interest in Slovakia as a business destination Read more 

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