(source: SME.sk / Hej,ty)
Good evening. The Thursday, February 10 edition of Today in Slovakia is ready with the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Slovak former minister and diplomat dies
Eduard Kukan in 2017 (source: SME)
Politician and career diplomat Eduard Kukan has died at the age of 82. It is thought heart failure was the cause of death.
Kukan served as Slovak foreign affairs minister in 1994 and from 1998 to 2006. He was a member of the European Parliament in 2009 and in 2014 – 2019 and ran unsuccessfully for president in 2004.
Parliament honoured him with a minute's silence.
Eduard Kukan always represented Slovakia with dignity and he was the most significant face of Slovak diplomacy, wrote President Zuzana Čaputová after his death was announced.
President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, wrote on Twitter that she was deeply saddened by Kukan's passing.
“Your engagement was exemplary, Your wisdom was inspirational,” she said, adding in Slovak: Rest in peace, Mr Kukan.
Test and vaccination certificates will not be needed to enter shops
Illustrative stock photo (source: SME)
The government proposed on Thursday that non-essential shops can once again operate under the “basic” regime.
This would mean they would be open for everyone without any need to present proof of vaccination, recovery, or a negative Covid-19 test.
Currently, only essential shops are open for everyone, non-essential shops are open only to those who are vaccinated or have recovered from a Covid-19 infection.
The Public Health Authority (ÚVZ) must update current ordinance for the change to become valid.
ÚVZ said it plans to update ordinances in line with the government's decision, with the change possibly coming into effect as of February 15.
More coronavirus and vaccination news
LAMP tests should increase testing capacities in Slovakia. (source: TASR)
20,160 people were newly diagnosed as Covid positive out of 35,106 PCR tests performed on Wednesday. The number of people in hospitals is 2,009, while 26 more deaths were reported on Wednesday. The vaccination rate stands at 51.43 percent, 2,828,834 people have received a first dose of the vaccine. More stats on Covid-19 in Slovakia here.
MP and head of the Hlas party Peter Pellegrini has confirmed he has tested positive for Covid-19. He wrote on Facebook that he feels good and is in quarantine. On Wednesday, he held a press conference in parliament together with MPs from his party.
State testing capacities for SARS-CoV-2 will be raised through the use of mobile testing with LAMP tests. For the first time, mobile sampling and laboratory units will be used for free state testing. People can register for the tests via the korona.gov.sk portal. In the first round of testing, they will be deployed from Thursday in Trnava, Prešov and Brezno.
Photo of the day
The highest category of protected area in the capital does not stop people from enjoying nature.
It sprawls over the wooded slopes of the Small Carpathians above the borough of Rača and along the eponymous Vydrica brook, where European otters, which were once native here, have recently reappeared.
The Vydrica nature reserve (source: Courtesy of MLBA)
Feature story for today
Slovakia is traditionally viewed as the more religious part of the one-time Czechoslovak state. Yet the latest census shows the country is becoming more atheist and this shift is likely irreversible.
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In other news
President Zuzana Čaputová ratified the Defence Cooperation Agreement between Slovakia and the USon February 9. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Slovakia on the ratification.
While former Police Corps president Tibor Gašpar, awaits trial in the 'Purgatory' case, his son, attorney Pavol Gašpar, is now also facing prosecution. Police have charged him with perjury and the planning of perjury, in connection with recordings from a hunting lodge. (Sme)
Industrial production continued to grow for the second month in a row in December 2021, rising to 8.9 percent, year-on-year. Industrial production grew year-on-year by more than 10 percent in 2021.
The Institute for Financial Policy's (IFP) latest macroeconomic forecast says that inflation will jump sharply this year. According to their estimates, prices will increase by 6 percent on average for the whole year. The main reason for the hikes, according to analysts, is the significant rise in energy prices for households approved by the regulator in January. This came in response to high energy commodity prices last year.
The European Commission has approved Slovakia's €151 million aid scheme for state-run railway carrier ZSSK under EU state aid rules for the construction of two light maintenance workshops for passenger trains in Košice and Žilina.
Smer chair Robert Fico spoke to a conspiracy Internet TV channel about potential partners after the next general election. He said he was ready to cooperate with the far right.
Do not miss on Spectator.sk today
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