(source: SME.sk / Hej,ty)
Good evening. Read the Monday, January 3, 2022 edition of Today in Slovakia to catch up on the main news of the day in less than five minutes. We wish you a pleasant read.
Restaurants reopen for the vaccinated and recovered
Vaccinated and recovered customers can now be served inside restaurants. (source: SME)
Restaurants, cafés and pubs reopened on January 3 for customers who are fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid within the past 180 days.
The facilities have to follow several rules. This includes having a capacity limit of 50 percent and the requirement that no more than four people or one household sit at one table.
People not vaccinated against Covid and those who have not recovered from the disease in the past six months cannot sit inside the restaurant, even if they present a negative test result. They can still use takeaways and delivery services, though.
Restaurants and other gastronomic facilities can be fined €20,000 if they do not observe the rules. The amount depends on the seriousness of the violation.
For now, the gastronomic facilities can be opened only until 20:00, given the night curfew (food delivery is still allowed, though). This restriction is set to last only until January 9, if the cabinet does not decide on prolonging it. Economy Minister Richard Sulík (SaS) has already said he will not support the extension and similar opinions have been presented by the representatives of the coalition parties Za Ľudí and Sme Rodina.
For a deeper insight into current affairs, check out our Last Week in Slovakia report published earlier today. You can sign up for the newsletter here.
More coronavirus and vaccination developments
1,328 people were newly diagnosed as Covid positive out of 5,729 PCR tests performed on January 2 (the positive test rate amounted to 23.18 percent). The number of people in hospitals is 2,293, and 39 more deaths were reported on Sunday. Altogether 2,744,018 people have received the first dose of the vaccine. More stats on Covid-19 in Slovakia here.
The sequencing of positive Covid tests has confirmed nine more Omicron cases in Slovakia, increasing the total number of people infected with the variant to 20.
Schools should continue with in-person education after the Christmas school holidays end, the Education Ministry said, meaning that schoolchildren should return on January 10, with the school traffic lights system and the voluntary self-testing with antigen tests being in place. Given the current epidemic situation, Education Minister Branislav Gröhling (SaS) sees no reason for schools not to allow in-person education. The reopening of schools next Monday was also supported by PM Eduard Heger (OĽaNO), who stressed that in-person education is very important for pupils and students. He added, however, that the statement of the Health Ministry will be crucial.
Several air companies announced limitations to their flights as of January 2022 due to the unfavourable epidemic situation caused by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, including low-cost carriers Ryanair and Wizz Air.
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Picture of the day
Several temperature records have been brokengiven the unusually warm weather on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The Sliač airport meteorological station, for example, measured 13.7 degrees Celsius, which broke the 1939 record of the highest air temperature in January.
Visitors of the Železná Studnička recreational zone in Bratislava enjoyed the unusually warm weather. (source: TASR)
Feature story for today
Even though PM Eduard Heger (OĽaNO) is, in theory, the most powerful man in the country as prime minister, he is rather alone with his unambiguous support of a Covid vaccine mandate. He has the strongest allies in this issue in Health Minister Vladimír Lengvarský (OĽaNO nominee) and the chair of the smallest coalition party Za Ľudí, Veronika Remišová, but the chairs of the other two coalition parties, Richard Sulík of SaS and Boris Kollár of Sme Rodina, are both against it, and the leader of Heger's party OĽaNO, Igor Matovič, does not see the point in mandatory vaccination. The possibility of a Covid vaccine mandate sailing through the parliament thus appears unrealistic for now.
In other news
The police rejected a criminal complaint concerning the robbery in the office of Smer chair and former three-time prime minister Robert Fico. He was robbed of gold coins and money, as stems from the leaked recording from a hunting cabin, but he failed to report it to the police.
Suburban bus transport in the entire Bratislava Region will be free in January. The price of tickets will be covered by the fine the carrier Arriva has to pay for the problems related to bus connections after it took over the bus service from the previous carrier, Slovak Lines, in mid-November 2021.
The Defence Ministry has received offers for 8x8 wheeled armoured vehicles from five countries – the Czech Republic, Finland, Romania, Spain and the USA – with some countries sending several technical solutions. The recommendation for the purchase which is to be discussed by the cabinet is set to be ready by March 2022.
The state budget deficit dropped by nearly 10 percent to €7.01 billion last year. Despite the positive development, the budget deficit is still much higher than before the coronavirus crisis.
One last note: The Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMÚ) issued a second-degree warning against strong wind in the mountains that will be in place on January 4 and 5 in the northern districts of Slovakia.
Weather warnings for January 4-5. (source: SHMÚ)
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