News digest: Obligatory state quarantine to be discussed again

Slovak parliament rejected European report on sexual health. IKEA fined for harming the environment. Crisis staff addresses Delta variant.

(Source: SME.sk / Hej,ty)

Good evening. This is the Thursday, June 17 edition of Today in Slovakia, a less-than-five-minute read containing the main news of the day. We wish you a pleasant read.

Slovak parliament rejected EU report on sexual health

Parliament accepted a resolution regarding MEP Predrag Matič's report on sexual and reproductive rights in the EU.

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The Slovak parliament reminded the European Parliament and other member countries that questions regarding health policy and education are up to the nation-states to address. They feel the report does not respect the principle of subsidiarity and exceeds EP competencies.

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The resolution was proposed by a group of OĽaNO MPs led by Anna Záborská. 74 MPs voted for it.

This was not the only discussed topic regarding sexual health during the June parliamentary session. There are currently two proposals that would limit abortions in Slovakia.


IKEA fined €80,000 for exceeding production limits

IKEA's production plant in Malacky was fined €80,000 by the environmental inspectorate after exceeding the permitted volume of chipboard production, which led to increased emissions.

"The company did not even intend to respect the production limit set in the integrated permit," the inspectorate stated in the press release.

IKEA has apologised for breaching the law and accepted the fine.

The inspectorate also fined IKEA Industry Slovakia in May 2021 €5,000 for intervening in the wetland without the consent of the competent authorities for environmental protection in the locality of Modranský Šúr and Zadný Šúr in the cadastral territory of the municipality of Modra.

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Coronavirus and vaccination news

  • Slovakia has received almost four million vaccines against coronavirus. This includes more than 2.3 million Pfizer vaccines, 910,000 AstraZeneca vaccines, 386,000 by Moderna, 102,000 by Johnson&Johnson and 200,000 of the Russian Sputnik V.
  • Hygienists examined 57 samples of sewerage waters for coronavirus. The results of the analysis should be available next week, the Public Health Authority said.
  • Obligatory state quarantine after arrival from abroad is being discussed again, confirmed Vladimír Krčméry, an infectologist and member of the crisis staff. The staff met to discuss the Delta variant, which is spreading in the UK and Portugal. The crisis staff has not adopted any recommendations yet, but they will meet again on Monday. However, ministers pointed out that situation abroad may change quickly and people should take this into consideration when travelling for holiday. “It's one thing to travel abroad, another to return,” Krčméry added. He recommends people spend their holidays in a place easily accessible by car.
  • In the statistics of reported adverse reactions after Covid-19 vaccines, there was one new post-vaccination death this week. A 44-year-old patient who had been vaccinated with the first dose of Vaxzevria from AstraZeneca died. It was determined possible that her death was linked to the vaccine.

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Photo of the day

Many people escaped the hot weather by heading to the water. High temperatures will continue in Slovakia during the weekend. The Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMÚ) issued a second-degree warning for southwest Slovakia, including Bratislava, valid until Saturday. Temperatures in those regions could reach 35 Celsius degrees.


Feature story for today

Although Slovakia has only 8,500 cultivated hectares of vineyards, winegrowers can make remarkable wines from them. "The quality of wine reflects the quality of a vineyard itself," said experienced sommelier Rastislav Šuták.

Parched? Sommelier proposes four remarkable Slovak wines Read more 

In other news

  • Hlas, the party of the former PM Peter Pellegrini that does not have a caucus in parliament, will submit a proposal for a non-confidence vote in PM Eduard Heger and thus his government. The party will probably do so next week. The session has to be summoned in seven days.
  • A fire broke out at the Louis Pasteur University Hospital in Košice in the afternoon. All rescue services arrived on the scene. Patients were evacuated from the building.
  • Through the police action Mýtnik II (Toll collector II), the National Criminal Agency (NAKA) accused six people of legalising income through criminal activity, corruption and machination at a public procurement and public auction. One of the accused is likely Andrej Holák, deputy chair of the board of directors MH Manažment, TA3 television reported.
  • A brown bear intervention team euthanised a bear that posed a threat to citizens of Sučany village (Martin district). The bear had been visiting settled areas since autumn 2020, endangering the safety and health of inhabitants. The bear did not react to attempts to scare him away.
  • Cases of coronavirus infection were confirmed among the members of the Slovak national team at EURO 2020. Defender Denis Vavro had a positive test result, according to the sport.sk portal. The driver of the bus transporting the Slovak national team is likely the other infected person.
  • Three journalists from the Sme daily received the Czecho-Slovak public prize of the Open Society Foundation for its story, 22 testimonies: Waitress, president, director – all of them experienced sexual abuse.

Do not miss on Spectator.sk today

A hotel in High Tatras had an unexpected visitor. A bear visited its kitchen Read more  Interior minister survives ousting attempt Read more  The world enters a new age after pandemic outbreak Read 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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