The empty streets of Bratislava during a partial lockdown. (source: SITA)
The announcement of the closure of restaurants, schools and shops on December 9 by PM Igor Matovič and Health Minister Marek Krajčí (both OĽaNO) came too late. It will not help us stop the spread of the coronavirus infection before Christmas, experts agree.
The Sme daily spoke with chief epidemiologist Henrieta Hudečková, data analysts Richard Kollár and Ivan Bošňák, and doctor and member of the central crisis staff Peter Visolajský, asking them to evaluate the recently adopted measures and whether they are sufficient to reverse the rising trend.
Due to the increasing number of patients in hospitals, Slovakia will probably have to adopt a hard lockdown with a curfew and restrictions on travel at least in the hardest-hit areas during the weekend. One such territory is Upper Považie.
“Forget about Christmas as you know it,” Bošňák said. “It will be spent at home, with Christmas trees and wafers.”
The problem is that hospitals are reaching full capacity, while the number of patients keeps rising. This has been confirmed not only by data analysts but also by the largest hospitals addressed by Sme. Some have even exceeded the record number of COVID-19 patients to date.
