News digest: Majority of adult Slovak population have received a jab

Good evening. Catch up on the main news of the day in less than five minutes with the Thursday, August 12 edition of Today in Slovakia. We wish you a pleasant read.

Conflict in police escalates, more accusations

Illustrative stock photo (source: TASR)

The conflict between investigators of the National Criminal Agency and the anti-team of the inspectorate of the Interior Ministry is escalating.

While the former head of the inspectorate team Diana Santusová wrote a letter to politicians, in which she claims that her team went further than it suits someone, Police Corps President Peter Kovařík said that some police officers have been followed and the wheels of one of their cars were loosened three different times.

The conflict concerns the investigation of collaborating witnesses in well-known cases like God Mills and Purgatory. The witnesses in question are Matej Zeman, Csaba Dömötör and Peter Petrov. The inspection accused them of perjury and obstruction of justice on July 20 while the indictment resolution suggests that witnesses have given false testimonies with the knowledge of NAKA investigators.

Coronavirus and vaccination news

(source: TASR)

74 people were diagnosed as Covid-positive out of 6,658 PCR tests performed on Thursday. The number of people in hospitals has dropped by 16 to 57 people. The nationwide vaccination rate is at 41.92 percent; 2,305,536 people have received the first dose of the vaccine. More stats on Covid-19 in Slovakia here.
A majority of the adults in Slovakia are vaccinated, the Health Ministry reported. More than 2.3 million people in Slovakia have received a jab and more than 50 percent of vaccinated people are over the age of 18.

The definition of the vaccinated person has changed – the upper limit for vaccination, which was set for 12 months since receiving the jab, has been abandoned. (Public Health Authority)
A person who has tested positive with the coronavirus is obliged to inform everyone they werein contact with up to two days before the sample was taken about the diagnosis. Moreover, if the person has symptoms of the disease, they have to let everyone they were with up to two days before the symptoms appeared know.

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Photo of the day

The ruins of Gýmeš Castle lie on a steep quartz hill named Dúň about 5 km from the village Jelenec (Nitra District). In the past, it was the centre of the surrounding Gýmešský (Hungarian name for Jelenec) estate. Over the centuries it was conquered by the Turks but later restored and was inhabited until the second half of the 19th century. The ruin is a significant feature of the surrounding area.

(source: TASR)

Feature story for today

Observers of Slovak society agree that the opinions of many voters are in accordance with the party they prefer. Supporters of the opposition are less vaccinated in general.

Yet politicians' opinions on vaccination only matter to about one fifth of the population. Politicians are more likely to confirm someone’s opinion than change it completely.

In other news

Both an international and European arrest warrant have been issued for entrepreneur Miroslav Výboh. Last week, was charged within the Toll Collector 3 police operation with accepting a bribe. (Tvnoviny.sk) The entrepreneur has been staying abroad, mostly in Monaco, where he probably is now. (Sme)
The Transport Ministry and the Dopravný Podnik Bratislava (DPB) company, which operates public transport in the capital, signed a contract concerning a non-repayable financial contribution worth €70 million. 30 new trams should be purchased for this price.
The police arrested former Belarusian Ambassador to Slovakia Igor Alexandrovich Leshchenya in Minsk. He was the first leader of the diplomatic representation that publicly supported last year's protests against the Alexander Lukashenko regime. (Belsat.eu)
Due to the lack of microchips, Volkswagen will not immediately restart its production after the plant-wide holidays end this week. SUV models will not be produced in the first three days while small urban cars will not be produced on Monday. (Trend, )
Slovaks are careful optimists; more than half of them have cautiously positive outlooks about the future, according to Slovenská Sporiteľňa's recent poll. However, one-third of people are rather fearful for their future and 6 percent fear it very much.
Sandberg Capital of former J&T partner Martin Fedor is leaving the telecommunications company Swan. The company will be controlled solely by owners Juraj and Pavol Ondriš. (Antimonopoly Office)
The Environment Ministry has set up an expert team called "Revitalization of the Hron River" in order to oversee the restoration of life in the river after a recent ecological accident. At the end of June, approximately 500 cubic meters of digestate leaked from a damaged storage bag of the biogas plant in Budča. Approximately 40 tons of fish were killed.