News digest: Vaccination with AstraZeneca halted for now

Travelling to Belgium easier. Pregnant women in Bratislava Region will be given preference in vaccination list of stand-ins.

(Source: TASR)

This is the Tuesday, May 11, 2021 edition of Today in Slovakia. Learn about politics, business, and other notable events of the day in Slovakia in less than five minutes. If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription. Thank you.

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Justice minister survives ousting attempt

Justice Minister Mária Kolíková (Za Ľudí) will remain at her post for now.

51 out of 117 MPs present supported the proposal to oust her, submitted by the opposition. 63 MPs were against, two abstained and one did not vote at all.

Kolíková has been clearly supported by Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), Sme Rodina and Za Ľudí. Some MPs of the biggest coalition party, the Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO), firstly said that she had not explained some suspicions related to the rental of the Justice Ministry’s building. In the end, only one OĽaNO MP voted for her removal.

Kolíková said that she felt the support of the government, though PM Eduard Heger (OĽaNO) did not support her publicly.

OĽaNO MPs have not said whether they will take more steps against her, and only claimed that they want to talk with her during the caucus meeting.

Mária Kolíková has survived an attempt to oust her Read more 

Administration of AstraZeneca halted in Slovakia

Vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine has been suspended for now, after the State Institute for Drug Control (ŠÚKL) said that the death of a 47-year-old woman was probably related to blood clots, a rare side effect of AstraZeneca.

This means that for now, people awaiting their first vaccine jab in the online waiting room will not be administered AstraZeneca. The Health Ministry is currently considering the possibilities, and will announce its decision soon.

AstraZeneca will be administered only to people who have already received the first jab.

AstraZeneca vaccination has been suspendedRead more 

More coronavirus and vaccination news

  • 350 PCR tests out of 7,995 carried out on May 10 came back positive (4.38), and of 97,562 antigen tests, 363 were positive (0.37 percent). 26 more people died of Covid, increasing the total number to 12,077.
  • Pregnant women will be given preference in the list of stand-ins for the Covid vaccination in the Bratislava Region, together with people suffering from chronic diseases and blood donors. Pregnant women in the second or third trimesters will be administered the mRNA vaccine.
  • Belgium has listed Slovakia as an orange country, meaning that incomers from Slovakia will not have to submit a 72-hour negative Covid test, self-isolate or undergo another testing. Still, they must complete the Health Passenger Locator Form after their arrival to the country.

Photo of the day

President Zuzana Čaputová officially opened the Children's School of Architecture and Civil Engineering of the non-profit organization Bibiana Danmark in Copenhagen. At the same time, she handed over gifts to director Janne Bech - an insect house and honey from the presidential garden. The International House of Art for Children in Bratislava was the inspiration for the creation of Bibiana in Copenhagen.

Feature story for today

A higher interest in digitalisation, automation processes and online solutions are among the main changes experts in business consulting have encountered since the pandemic hit. Some sectors were able to benefit from the change in conditions.

Read more in our survey among representatives of business consulting companies.

Pandemic opened path to changes. Digitalisation and automation issues dominate Read more 

In other news

  • Branislav Zurian resigns as chair of the National Criminal Agency (NAKA), leaving the police. He will quit on May 15.
  • Former high-ranked police representatives Tibor Gašpar, Róbert Krajmer, Peter Hraško and Marian Zetocha, detained during the Očistec (Purgatory) police operation, will remain in custody, the court decided. Former deputy director of the National Unit of Financial Police, Milan Mihálik, will be released.
  • General Prosecutor Maroš Žilinka cancelled the accusations of judge Richard Molnár regarding four deeds, calling them vague and too general. He did so despite the fact that the special prosecutor rejected Molnár's request to drop the accusation.
  • The Dutch-Slovak group Lugera may acquire a stock in the Adecco personal agencies in Slovakia, Denmark and Croatia, as the Slovak Antimonopoly Office has given the green light to the transaction.
  • Lidl has extended its logistics centre in Sereď by one fourth of the original area, investing €13 million. At the same time, the retailer has hired 40 new employees.
  • Slovak ice hockey player Zdeno Chára from the Washington Capitals has been nominated for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy award. The award is granted annually by the Association of NHL Journalists to a player who combines his hockey championship with exemplary devotion and loyalty to hockey.

Do not miss on Spectator.sk today

Number of long-term unemployed increased by 50 percent in a year Read more 

Košice contains hidden scenes from Shakespeare’s plays Read more 

Highway will soon connect Košice and Bratislava via HungaryRead more 

If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.

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