News digest: Minister discourages people from travelling, more limits pondered

Read your overview of news on Friday, September 11, 2020.

(Source: Sme)

This is your overview of news on Friday, September 11, 2020. Make sure to check out our weekend reading tips at the bottom. Thank you for being our readers.

Coronavirus in Slovakia:

  • Health Minister Marek Krajčí recommends people do not travel in light of the worsening coronavirus situation in Slovakia and its neighbouring countries. The pandemic commission will recommend that the crisis staff lists the Czech Republic among the red countries. Limits to mass events have also been recommended. Read more about the latest coronavirus-related recommendations here.
  • Authorities reported 186 new coronavirus cases in Slovakia as of Friday morning.
  • Even though half a year has passed since the first wave of the pandemic surged in Slovakia, the state is still lacking epidemiologists to deal with the situation. Epidemiologists play a key role in times of epidemics. The lack of epidemiologists and the lack of prognoses are just two out of several deficiencies that the Sme daily found when it analysed the preparedness of Slovakia and its health care system for the second wave of the spread of the coronavirus.
Súvisiaci článok Poor preparedness for the second wave of the pandemic could lead to closures again Read more 
  • The coronavirus infection has been reported in a retirement home in Drienovec near Košice. A member of the staff tested positive on Thursday. The operation of the facility is not at risk. (Korzár)
  • Large-capacity testing sites are now operating in Bratislava, Nitra, Banská Bystrica and Trenčín. Another one is soon to open in Trnava.
  • The whole county of Nitra will, from September 12, be put in the red zone at least until the end of September. It is forbidden to organise events of more than 500 people outside and 250 inside. Also, it is forbidden to organise events between 23:00 and 6:00 with the exception of weddings and funerals. Visits to hospitals and retirement homes are forbidden.

In other news:

  • Boris Kollár announced the deadline for submitting candidacies for the position of general prosecutor is October 9, 2020. The election is to take place during the parliamentary session starting on November 24.
  • PM Igor Matovič travelled to Poland for the Visegrad Group summit, to debate the pandemic and the agenda for the upcoming European summit with his counterparts from Czechia, Poland and Hungary.
  • The National Criminal Agency (NAKA) searched the house and other buildings of the former head of the anti-corruption unit Robert Krajmer. They eventually detained Krajmer, the noviny.sk website reported.
  • Milan Mihálik, former deputy director of the National Financial Police Unit of NAKA, has been charged in the case of illegal illustrations. (Aktuality.sk)
  • The Finance Ministry has set the deadline for submitting income tax returns for 2019 on October 31, 2020. It is still not known whether taxpayers will also be obliged to settle their tax obligations by this deadline. Read more about paying taxes in Slovakia.
  • The Financial Administration has launched a "Brexit" page on its website. Taxpayers can find all customs- and tax-related information about the regime between the EU and the UK as of 2021, to prepare for changes if no agreement is reached.

Must-read stories on Spectator.sk today:

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