Illustrative stock photo (source: TASR)
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The rules for the curfew should change. Unlike today, when people not meeting the rules for exemption are allowed to go out at night, the central crisis staff now proposes applying it for the time between 23:00 and 5:00, with the exception of going to work or the doctor.
The change was approved by the central crisis staff.
At the same time, it will be necessary to carry out the certificates from the recent mass testing until the end of this week, i.e. evening of November 15.
Doubts about national emergency
To declare curfew, a national emegency must be declared. It was declared by the Slovak government on October 1 for 45 days, meaning it ends this Saturday, November 14.
The central crisis staff has recently approved the proposal to prolong it by another 90 days, i.e. until mid-February 2021. The proposal still needs to be greenlighted by the cabinet.
However, the law enables the declaring of a national emergency for 90 days only. This is why some experts, including Ombudswoman Mária Patakyová, have questioned the possibility of declaring it repeatedly, the Denník N daily reported.
Neither does the junior coalition party Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) agree with the proposal. Economy Minister and SaS chair Richard Sulík said that he can imagine a compromise, for example, of prolonging the national emergency by 30 days.
Patakyová recommends that it will be valid only for a period not exceeding 90 days, given the fact that it is added to the currently-valid national emergency.
Some businesses will stay closed
Businesses that have been closed due to the anti-pandemic measures (like restaurants, fitness centres etc.) would not open anytime soon.
“We will talk about how each affected sector wants to help so we can have a greater degree of freedom,” PM Igor Matovič (OĽaNO) said before the meeting of the government representatives and the representatives of the sectors hit by the pandemic on November 10.
The conditions under which some businesses can reopen are different, according to Matovič. As he continued, there is a difference if people sit away from each other in a mask and at a safe distance, and if people not living in the same household do not wear masks and sit next to one another.
