News digest: National Gallery prepares for its big move

Good afternoon. The weekend is coming and we have prepared a quick summary of the main news of the day in our Friday, January 28, 2022 edition of Today in Slovakia. We wish you a pleasant read.

For weekend tips and reads, check out ourSpectacular Slovakia weekly roundup. This week, Peter Dlhopolec writes about unusual rock formations, 2022 concerts in Slovakia, and a Bratislava cultural centre.

Slovak National Gallery prepares for its big move

The SNG's new look combines modern and historical features. (source: Courtesy of SNG - Martin Deko)

The Slovak National Gallery (SNG) is gearing up to move into its newly reconstructed premises on the Danube embankment in Bratislava. Construction work is expected to be completed in the summer; the plan is to open the new premises, but without exhibitions, later in the year

“This year will be very atypical at the SNG,” said Alexandra Kusá, general director of the gallery, which is the country's most prominent, as quoted by the TASR newswire. She added that the SNG would move all its collections and archive funds into the new premises. “It will probably be the largest operation we have ever experienced.”

The reconstruction of the modern extension and the construction of a new depository and other premises for the SNG, at a cost of almost €70 million, started in 2016.

Coronavirus and vaccination news

14,312 people were newly diagnosed as Covid positive out of 31,662 PCR tests performed on January 27. The number of people in hospital was 1,549, and 24 more deaths were reported. The vaccination rate is 50.81 percent; 2,794,427 people have received a first vaccine dose. More stats on Covid-19 in Slovakia are available here.
The highest number of positive results from PCR tests for coronavirus on Thursday, January 27, was in the 35-44 years age category, the National Health Information Centre (NCZI) informed.
Slovakia wants schools to remain open even if the pandemic situation in the country worsens, according to a survey presented by Education Minister Branislav Gröhling (SaS). The survey showed that 82.3 percent of those polled want schools to remain open even during a worsening situation, while some 13 percent said that they should be closed, and 4.7 percent were unable to provide an opinion on the issue.
A total of 10,586 cases of suspected adverse reactions to vaccines against Covid-19 had been reported in Slovakia up to Wednesday, January 26, the State Institute for Drug Supervision (ŠÚKL) wrote on its website. Of these, 1,493 were serious, including seven deaths.

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Anniversary of the Day

Marián Varga playing live, 2016. (source: Sme - Gabriel Kuchta)

Marián Varga, who was behind several Slovak firsts – including first art-rock band in then-communist Czechoslovakia, and the first original Slovak modern musical – was born on this day in 1947. He died in 2017.

Feature story for today

"When I received an invitation to speak on a radio programme about people who experienced life abroad and then returned to Slovakia, I wasn't immediately sure of what I might want to say.

"In my years working for The Slovak Spectator, I have heard countless stories of foreigners who live in Slovakia, as well as Slovaks who have returned to Slovakia from abroad. Does it even make sense to seek a single pattern in those stories?"

The Slovak Spectator's editor-in-chief reflects on homecoming – and leaving.

In other news

The economic sentiment in Slovakia increased again in January this year following a quite considerable drop at the end of last year. "We expect that the mood in our economy may worsen again in the coming months, due to the ongoing material crisis, but also the third wave of the pandemic," said 365.bank analyst Jana Glasová.
63 percent of Slovak households have savings that they can use to cover unexpected expenses or bridge a deterioration in their economic situation. A year ago, it was 69 percent of households, but, on other hand, more households now report higher savings than in the past, shows a survey by Stem/Mark.
The state will hand over some 6,000 tablets used in the 2021 census to local governments, to be used in kindergartens, schools or elderly care homes.
International rail transport on the route between Bratislava-Petržalka and Hegyeshalom in Hungary via the Hungarian village of Rajka will resume as of February 1.
Slovakia's highest ski slope, running from an altitude of 2,190m at the Lomnické Sedlo pass in the High Tatras will open on Saturday, January 29. The 1,240m-long treated slope ends at Skalnaté Pleso.
A total of 1,162 counterfeit euro banknotes were seized in Slovakia last year. It's the lowest number since Slovakia joined the eurozone in 2009. Fake €50 and €20 notes accounted for the largest share. Last year, 1,592 counterfeit euro coins were seized, the highest number in the last five years, the National Bank of Slovakia reported.