News digest: Eight Afghans request asylum in Slovakia

Good evening. Catch up on the main news of the day in less than five minutes with the Thursday, August 19 edition ofToday in Slovakia.We wish you a pleasant read.

Eight Afghans request asylum in Slovakia

Illustrative stock photo (source: TASR)

Slovakia’s special army plane Spartan landed in Slovakia on Wednesday night, with both Slovak and Afghan citizens onboard.

Most of the people onboard were Slovak citizens; four were Afghan citizens while another four Afghan citizens were onboard the Czech special plane.

All eight have asked for asylum and are currently living in a facility in Humenné. They will undergo the standard asylum procedure.

The entire operation started on Monday and lasted some 55 hours, said Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď (OĽaNO). He did not want to specify the work positions of the evacuated people.

More districts will be orange, some returned to green

The new map of districts from August 23, 2021 (source: Health Ministry)

The daily coronavirus caseload is gradually increasing while the Delta variant prevails in positive samples.

The Health Ministry decided that of the Covid automat warning system from next Monday, August 23. These are the districts of Banská Štiavnica, Gelnica, Kežmarok, Košice I-IV, Levoča, Poprad, Spišská Nová Ves, Stropkov, and Vranov nad Topľou.

Some of the districts that are in the orange tier this week, Košice-okolie and Stará Ľubovňa, will return to the green tier.

This means that districts will have to follow stricter rules than those in the green, monitoring tier. Also, some entry limitations for the regimes enabling all people with a confirmation of a negative test result/recovery from Covid/vaccination are stricter, according to the new alert system known as the Covid automat.

Other coronavirus and vaccination news

(source: Sme)

77 people were diagnosed as Covid positive out of 6,132 PCR tests performed on Wednesday. The number of people in hospitals has increased to 72 people. The vaccination rate is at 42.47 percent; 2,335,603 people have received the first dose of the vaccine. More stats on Covid-19 in Slovakia here.
Companies have vaccinated a total of 5,576 inhabitants so far. Currently, 37 companies across Slovakia offer vaccination at their facilities. Companies most often opted for a mobile vaccination unit and employees viewed getting vaccinated directly in the company as a benefit, the Health Ministry said.
By the end of July, the Labour Ministry had paid more than €2 billion to employers and the self-employed under the First Aid scheme. This follows from the commentary of the Institute of Social Policy on economic and social assistance during the pandemic.
People who have problems with Green Pass do not have to call the NCZI call centre for help. They can turn to NCZI via a form published on their Facebook.

Photo of the day

(source: TASR)

Letanovský mlyn, a popular spot for adventurous tourists, is located in the middle of the Hornád Gorge in the Slovak Paradise National Park. In the picture, tourists tread over the metal bridge above the gorge.

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The Rajec Valley, situated in central Slovakia, houses an ancient Greek spa, the incredible Slovak Bethlehem and the special village of Čičmany. Learn more in our podcast.

In other news

Former interior minister Robert Kaliňák (Smer) testified at the Bratislava branch of the National Criminal Agency (NAKA) on Thursday. After he finished, he confirmed for the press that he testified as a witness for the Purgatory case.

Robert Kaliňák (source: TASR)

For the purchase of medical devices from the time of Kajetán Kičura (former head), the state material reserves received a fine of €70,000. In three administrative proceedings, the Public Procurement Office found a violation of the Public Procurement Act.
During the Pope's visit to Slovakia in September, about 1,200 to 1,300 volunteers will be needed in Bratislava and Šaštín. Currently, about 800 are registered.
In the Jasná - Nízke Tatry ski resort, the construction of a new 15-seat cable car has begun. It will connect the Biela Púť and Priehyba and should be built by the following winter. The total investment will climb to €15 million.
The prosecutor of the Special Prosecutor's Office filed a charge in the Fatima bar case against former State Secretary of the Justice Ministry Monika Jankovská and two other people for the crimes of extortion and obstruction of justice. The former head of the NAKA anti-corruption unit, Robert Krajmer, and Peter Vasko, a family member of the former state secretary, were charged alongside Jankovská.
Juraj Hipš has resigned from the post of leader of the non-parliamentary Spolu party. Hipš will remain in the post until the party congress. At the same time, he plans to negotiate the merger of the party with Progressive Slovakia (PS). With this vision, he plans to run as leader of Spolu once again in September.
Starting at 21:00 on Thursday, Bratislava Castle will be lit up in purple, the international colour for the disabled in honour of the upcoming Paralympic Games in Tokyo.