News digest: Only a test needed for travel from neighbouring EU countries to Slovakia

Sputnik will be available to those aged 60+ too. Egypt will be in the black tier of Slovakia's travel map. A new questionnaire will gauge the interest of non-EU students in vaccination.

(Source: SME.sk / Hej,ty)

The Wednesday, June 9 edition of Today in Slovakia is ready with the main news of the day in less than five minutes. We wish you a pleasant read.

MP leaves parliament due to sexual abuse suspicions

MP Ján Herák, who got into parliament on the OĽaNO ballot, has resigned. His decision came after he was linked with three suspected cases of sexual abuse; he is accused in one of them. Another has been reopened from the past.

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Coalition partners Za Ľudí and SaS stated earlier today that Herák should leave until the suspicions against him are investigated.

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The OĽaNO movement, in which Herák suspended his membership by the end of May due to the initial allegations, said that it is a good solution to calm the situation while taking into consideration the sensitivity of the topic.


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Slovak Covid map is predominately yellow

The epidemic situation in Slovakia continues to improve. There are about 200 Covid-positive people per day and less than 30 people are on lung ventilation.

More than one million people have received the second jab of the vaccine in Slovakia while 1.9 million people have received the first.

More districts in Slovakia will thus see lifted measures.

From June 14, two districts will be red, three districts will be light red, 19 districts will be orange and 49 districts will be yellow. Six districts will turn green.

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There will still not be any districts in the black or dark red tier.


Easier travel from green neighbouring countries

The government has also updated the travelling traffic light system. Egypt, for example, turned black on the map.

Learn what measures are valid when coming to Slovakia from green, red or black classified countries here.

The government will also permit citizens of neighbouring green countries to enter Slovakia using 24-hour antigen tests or 72-hour PCR tests. The regulation will be valid from Monday, June 14.

PM Eduard Heger also said Slovakia made an agreement with Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic and Croatia that will allow vaccinated Slovak holidaymakers to travel to destinations without having to get a test or undergo quarantine if 22 days have passed after their first dose of any Covid-19 vaccine. Negotiations are still ongoing with Slovenia.

More coronavirus and vaccination news

  • The Health Ministry will also permit vaccination with Sputnik V for people older than 60. The ministry made this decision after the Russian side submitted the necessary documents.
  • The European Parliament has approved the bloc's EU Covid travel pass, paving the way for the revival of free movement across the continent. It will come into force by July 1. (euronews)
  • The Student Council for Higher Education (ŠRVŠ) is conducting a preliminary questionnaire in order to obtain information regarding the vaccination of non-EU university students in Slovakia. After the data is collected by ŠRVŠ, the ministry will proceed to assemble vaccination stations if the demand is high enough.

Photo of the day

The Košice Zoo was delighted when a few weeks ago, three West Siberian Eagle Owls (Bubo bubo sibiricus) hatched. No other zoo in Slovakia has bred this type of owl yet.


Feature story for today

The European Union is at a crossroads. If it goes the right way, it can be a global player within ten years, says Slovak former prime minister Mikuláš Dzurinda.

Without team effort, the EU will become irrelevant Read more 

Other news

  • The Všeobecná Zdravotná health insurer and Union confirmed that exchange tickets for specialist visits are necessary. Insurees of Dôvera do not need them until the end of June. The use of exchange tickets, provided by a GP when an appointment with a specialist is necessary, has been suspended because of the pandemic.
  • A court in Košice freed three of the six charged Roma in the case of the 2013 Moldavan ad Bodvou raid. These individuals include Milan Hudák, who became a face of beaten Roma and was awarded the White Crow in 2019, Roland Dančo and Július Hudák. The prosecutor withdrew the prosecution. Read more on how the beaten Roma became suspected criminals.
  • The government approved the dismissal of Adrián Szabó from the function of director of the inspectorate office. The proposal will now go to the committee for defence and security that has to be approved by a three-fifths majority. Szabó is suspended from the service. (Denník N)
  • Slovakia and Hungary will mutually recognise their national vaccination certificates as of Wednesday. According to State Secretary at the Foreign Affairs Ministry Martin Klus (SaS), Slovakia will accept all vaccines deployed in Hungary. "There is, however, a condition that a person traveling from Hungary to Slovakia must present an addendum to the certificate stating when they were vaccinated in Hungary so that we can apply the rules in our decree," Klus explained.
  • Travel agencies should get advantaged loans from the state. The government has approved the proposal and parliament must confirm it. Agencies need the money to pay clients who last year received a voucher for a replacement trip and have not used it, as well as to book new stays to more desirable destinations for this summer.

Do not miss in Spectator.sk today

Disinformation was supposed to help the Russian vaccine, but it harmed everyone. Read more  Winemakers missing seasonal workers to pick the grapes Read more  Tatras unveil their history during free guided walks in June Read more 

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

Top stories

Two bear incidents over weekend, an effort to revive Bratislava calvary, and storks in Trnava.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


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