News digest: First districts will switch to black-tier

Inflation is highest since November 2011. Slovak MFA plans to look into network of Slovak embassies and consulates, scrapping of some possible.

(Source: SME.sk / Hej,ty)

Good evening. Catch up on the main news of the day in less than five minutes with the Thursday, October 14 edition of Today in Slovakia. We wish you a pleasant read.

Many restrictions in black-tier districts

There will be five districts in the black tier as of October 18. This is the worst possible classification in the five-tier Covid automat system that sets anti-pandemic rules for districts.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

Due to the deteriorating epidemic situation, some districts should have already been placed in the black tier this week, but hygienists decided to keep them in the dark-red tier.

SkryťTurn off ads

This will no longer be the case as of next week. Čadca, Kysucké Nové Mesto, Bardejov, Svidník and Stará Ľubovňa will follow the strictest measures.

In the black tier, vaccinated people are also limited by the measures. Parties, weddings or funeral receptions are banned for everyone. Water parks, spas, wellness centres and fitness centres also cannot let visitors in.

Restaurants cannot serve food indoors or outdoors; they can only sell take-away or deliver. Hotels and other accommodation facilities will be closed as well.

People who do not have proof of vaccination, a negative test result, or confirmation that they have recovered from Covid can only enter basic shops, such as grocery stores, drugstores, and pharmacies.

Schools will remain open. According to the Covid automat, black-tier districts should place limitations on movement, but a national emergency is required for that. Health Minister Vladimír Lengvarský has suggested a national emergency will not be declared for now.

SkryťTurn off ads

More coronavirus and vaccination news

  • 1,871 people were newly diagnosed as Covid positive out of 12,531 PCR tests performed on Wednesday. The number of people in hospitals has increased to 885 people. 19 more deaths were reported on Wednesday. The vaccination rate is at 45 percent; 2,475,646 people have received the first dose of the vaccine. More stats on Covid-19 in Slovakia here.
  • Registration for the third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine was launched. People with immunity disorders will get it first, then people aged 55 and older, people with other diseases, healthcare workers and clients, and the employees of nursing homes.
  • The Health Ministry has launched registration for the vaccination of children aged five to 11 who have serious diseases. The child's parent has to fill in a request, read the instructions and obtain their paediatrician's permission to get the vaccine.

No details about Kažimír's charges

Governor of the National Bank of Slovakia Peter Kažimír has been charged with bribery. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to five years in prison.

He has one of the most prestigious and best-paid posts in the country and law enforcement bodies are carefully approaching his prosecution.

Neither the police, the Special Prosecutor’s Office nor the European Central Bank (ECB),where Kažimír is a member of the Governing Council, want to say more about his prosecution.

Some information leaked to the public suggests that the prosecution concerns tax inspections at specific companies, for which Kažimír allegedly interceded.


Feature story for today

A report about the atrocities written by two Slovaks who escaped the camp was ignored for weeks and months.

The Allies knew about Auschwitz atrocities, but they bombed the Bratislava refinery instead Read more 

If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription. Thank you.


Picture of the day

The Danube has never ceased to fascinate people. The new book Danube – The Magic River, written by Michal Hvorecký and illustrated by Simona Čechová, is the latest product of this enthrallment.


In other news

  • Slovakia's public finance deficit is expected to reach 4.94 percent of GDP next year, according to the draft general government budget for the years 2022 to 2024, which the Cabinet approved with comments on Thursday.
  • Inflation in Slovakia reached 4.6 percent in September this year. This is the highest figure seen since November 2011. The increasing dynamics of price growth continued to be driven by year-on-year higher prices of food, fuel prices and, most recently, of school catering services following cuts in the state funding of lunches at primary schools.
  • The construction of the new housing estate Nesto in Bratislava Petržalka started with a foundation stone. The new neighbourhood for 15,000 inhabitants should be located in a 47-hectare area close to Slovak-Austrian borders in a locality with a WWI military cemetery. It should offer innovative concepts of living and work and leisure spaces. The first inhabitants should move in by 2024.
  • One of the alleged members of a drug crime group, of which Zuzana Strausz Plačková and her husband are allegedly a part, died suddenly in custody. Tvnoviny.sk reported that the individual is Pavol Duchoň. Police found 9 kilograms of meth and €70,000 euros at his place during the raid. This information was confirmed by the Prosecutor General's Office.
  • The film 107 Mothers (Cenzorka in Slovak) by Peter Kerekes is a Slovak national candidate for the Oscars. “We really appreciate the courage of Slovak Film and Television Academy members to choose our film about the power of motherhood behind the walls of the Ukrainian prison and to support the growth of our cinema beyond the mental boundaries of our local themes," commented Peter Kerekes and co-author Ivan Ostrochovský.
  • A series of protests against stricter legislation on abortion will take place on October 18 in Bratislava, Brno, Banská Bystrica and Trnava. The amendment aiming to limit the reproductive rights of women was sent to the second reading last week.
  • Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Korčok (SaS nominee) is about to make some changes to the network of Slovak Embassies and Consulates in the world. Some Slovak consulates could be scrapped since the state budget does not include an increase in funds for the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Do not miss on Spectator.sk today

Flu season begins, experts stress importance of flu shot during pandemic Read more  Green energy costs too much. But does it? Read more  More employees with benefits; one fifth still don’t have any Read more  Count Lanfranconi would have been pleased. Letter "N" back on Lafranconi Bridge Read more 

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

Top stories

The New Stations of the Cross combine old and new.

New Stations of the Cross to combine surviving remains and contemporary architecture.


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.


SkryťClose ad