The Matovič government still needs to find more doctors, nurses, or others who can take the samplings. (source: TASR)
This is your overview of news that happened in Slovakia on Thursday, October 29, 2020. This is a free-of-charge service for our readers. If you want to support us, become a subscriber and get access to more detailed news and interesting feature stories from Slovakia.
Who will take the swabs?
The nationwide testing, a project that Europe and the world will be watching, as PM Igor Matovič again stressed during this Thursday evening press conference, starts in less than two days in all 79 districts of the country. The government admits that it is still lacking health care professionals for the testing sites.
The teams that will be working at the testing sites consist of volunteers and administrative workers, as well as members of the armed forces. Health care staff are essential, however, because they are the only ones allowed to take the swabs.
To motivate the doctors to participate, Matovič has promised a special bonus of €500 to each doctor who works both days on the testing site.
Curfew lifted for the negative
Starting on November 2, the curfew will be over for those with negative test results. They will still have to observe the rules that came into force in mid-October.
“We rely on the fact that there will be mostly uninfected people outside, and the positive ones not revealed by tests will not be so infectious, otherwise the test would catch them,” Health Minister Marek Krajčí (OĽaNO) explained, as quoted by the Sme daily.
Feature story for today
In the picture: Teotihuacan administrator called K´ihnich Mo´(f1) and the king (f2) known as the Carrier of the Sun. (source: Jakub Špoták)
Experts from Slovakia have unravelled the secret of a near forgotten Mayan painting, which was destroyed by the forces of nature shortly after its discovery in the 1930s in the city of Uaxactun in present-day Guatemala.
Only old photographs of the work of art and an incorrectly redrawn copy have been preserved.
In other news
Slovakia reported 2,785 new coronavirus cases on Thursday morning.
Here is a Google map with the testing points in Bratislava.
The Foreigner's Police departments remain closed until November 8. If you had booked a date for these days, please, book a new date electronically.
The cabinet approved three types of aid at its October 28 session, with the aim of helping people and businesses deal with the pandemic. This includes the pandemic parental benefit, the SOS subsidy and the first aid package. Read more here.
Education Minister Branislav Grohling (SaS) called on pupils older than 10 to attend the testing. "It is important for you to know if you are healthy and that you will not infect anyone around you. I hope we will soon see each other at school," the minister said. (TASR)
Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď (OĽaNO) called on cross-border workers to get tested with PCR tests. If they want to take part in the nationwide testing, they are asked not to get tested in "the first village across the border", because it could cause a collapse in these border villages. (TASR)
Picture of the day
Design of Komenského Square as proposed by Totalstudio architects. (source: Courtesy of Totalstudio)
Transformation of the Komenského Square in central Bratislava will serve as a model for other public places, say city authorities.
