Next wave is ahead of Slovakia, health minister says

Bratislava has seen the biggest increase in seven-day incidence of infections. Christmas lockdown still not ruled out.

(Source: TASR)

Cross-border workers will be required to show negative antigen or PCR tests. The tests do not need to be performed in Slovakia, Chief hygienist Ján Mikas specified. On Monday, his office will update the directive and allow tests performed in EU countries.

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Health Minister Marek Krajčí said the situation in Slovakia is the best in the region, but "our curve has passed the niveau and the situation is starting to worsen".

"The next wave unfortunately seems to be ahead," the minister told the press.

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Around the country, 2,221 health care staff are currently in quarantine. The numbers of hospitalisations and persons in intensive care units and on lung ventilation have been growing.

Bratislava worst off now

The seven-day incidence has moderately improved in three regions, but other regions are worsening. The Bratislava Region is the worst off.

The increase in the seven-day incidence of the coronavirus infections in the regions as of December 4 is the following:

Bratislava 71%, Banská Bystrica 29%, Nitra 10%, Trenčín 8%, Žilina 4%, Košice -4% (seven-day incidence down), Trnava -11%, Prešov -15%

The Health Ministry is currently working on introducing a plan to cope with the pandemic based on a traffic-light system of colours, the final version has yet to be introduced.

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However, based on the provisional criteria for the anti-pandemic system, all districts of Slovakia are now red, with five of them dark red, which is the sixth of the proposed seven levels of alert. In the seventh, the black stage, a district will be required to go into a hard lockdown.

Lockdown not ruled out

In the five dark-red districts, experts recommend that the government introduce tougher measures there, to be followed up with mass testing on a district level.

"The situation in Slovakia is currently the best in the past weeks, in terms of numbers, but it is starting to worsen," the minister told journalists.

Hard lockdown during the Christmas holidays remains an option, according to Chief Hygienist Ján Mikas, but "we are all working on preventing that from happening".

More data in the document of the Health Ministry (in Slovak)

Read more about the coronavirus outbreak in Slovakia:

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