News digest: Foreigners’ Police departments remain closed

Slovenia has ordered PCR tests developed by Slovak scientists. Holocaust survivors received the coronavirus vaccine jab.

(Source: SITA)

This is your overview of news from Slovakia on Wednesday, January 27, 2021. This is a free-of-charge service for our readers. If you want to support us, become a subscriber and get access to more detailed news and interesting feature stories from Slovakia.

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Curfew toughened up, negative test required

Stricter rules for curfew came into force on January 27. This means that a negative PCR or antigen test result is now required when travelling to work, the bank or out to nature.

People do not have to show one when going to essential shops (like groceries, chemists, pharmacies or shops selling food for animals).

The police have intensified controls at several places.

Stricter curfew rules come into force, police intensify checks Read more 

Latest coronavirus developments

  • 2,775 of more than 14,000 PCR tests carried out on January 26 came back positive, which represents 19.8 percent. 101 people died.
  • The Health Ministry has approved the therapeutic use of Ivermectin in Slovakia for six months. People will be able to obtain it in pharmacies if they have a prescription.
  • The call centre operated by the Health Ministry has been overburdened since shortly after launching the vaccination of people older than 75 years. It received more than 500 calls in one second. The ministry will now increase the capacities to 5,000 calls a day until the end of the week.
  • Although some vaccination centres take stand-ins if some people on the lists do not show up to receive their jab, there are some problems with the registration process. The lists of stand-ins are operated by the hospitals that set their own rules. Sometimes people have only minutes to show up.
  • Slovenia has ordered PCR tests developed by the Slovak MultiplexDX company that can recognise the mutation first discovered in the UK. The first order for these tests was also submitted by the Public Health Authority.

US firm acquires successful Slovak startup

Slovak tech startup Exponea will have a new majority owner. It was acquired by the US company Bloomreach, but the price has not been published.

“I’m really excited to announce that Exponea has been acquired by Bloomreach, the leader in commerce experience,” Exponea CEO Peter Irikovský announced on the company’s website. “Bloomreach powers more than 25 percent of the western world’s commerce with its search, merchandising, and content management products.”

Bloomreach, an API company that helps eCommerce customers with website creation, says the acquisition will give them a marketing automation component it had been missing.

Related articleOne of the most successful Slovak tech startups changes hands Read more 

Picture of the day

On the occasion of launching another vaccination phase and International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the team from the University Hospital in Bratislava and Health Minister Marek Krajčí (OĽaNO) vaccinated Holocaust survivors.

Feature story for today:

January 27 is recognised as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemorating the tragedy of the Holocaust that occurred during World War II.

Read the story of Naftali Fürst and his experience in the camps of Sereď, Auschwitz and Buchenwald from our archive.

N. Fürst: The man who survived three concentration camps and a death march Read more 

In other news

  • The Foreigners’ Police departments will remain closed until Monday, February 8 at 8:00. They will take only clients who book their appointment in advance. The booking system will be launched on February 1 at midnight.
  • The city of Kaohsiung, Taiwan donated 300,000 face masks to Bratislava Region. They will be distributed to doctors, nursing homes and the regional authority.
  • The cabinet postponed the duty to pay social insurance from January 2021 to June 30, 2021. The decision concerns the self-employed and employers whose net revenues or incomes dropped by more than 40 percent.
  • State-run passenger railway carrier ZSSK will temporarily cancel 33 local trains on the Trnava-Bratislava and Trnava-Kúty routes due to the drop in passengers and the increased sick leave taken by its staff.
  • A new data and service centre GIS will be created near the Rye Island area as part of the TB LAB project. It should improve the communication and accessibility of information online, the coordination of spatial planning, and the decision-making of regions.
  • Four new protected areas will be created in Slovakia on March 1: Devínske Jazero lake, Čachtické Karpaty, Ostrovné lúčky and Široká, and Oborínsky Luh nature reserve.

Also on Spectator.sk today:

Related articleThe death of white nationalism in America Read more 

Related articleSlovakia has more and more vaccines available. State lacks courage Read more 

Related articleCompanies complain about an absurd fee. They need to add information state also has Read more 

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