New postal stamp with coronavirus motives. (source: Courtesy of Slovenská Pošta)
Here is your August 20, 2020 overview of news from Slovakia. Do not forget to scroll down for our picks of interesting reading tips from our website.
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New regulation for employers
After announcing that most of the coronavirus-positive cases uncovered in the past few days have been seen in seasonal workers coming to Slovakia from abroad, hygienists are ready to prepare a new directive for employers employing foreigners.
One of the new rules will be that only employees with a negative coronavirus test will be allowed to enter the employer’s premises.
Meanwhile, the number of active coronavirus cases rose to 1,055, close to the numbers from the peak of the first coronavirus wave.
Death of Slovak national in Belgium questioned
Several Belgian media outlets have published pictures from prison cameras capturing the behaviour of police officers towards a man from Slovakia who was detained at Charleroi airport in February 2018. They show one police officer giving a Nazi salute, while others were laughing. Moreover, another police officer was kneeling on the man’s chest for about 16 minutes.
The family of the Slovak, who succumbed to his injuries in a detention cell, claims he fell victim to police violence. The investigation into the case is still underway.
In other news
Some universities will not postpone the start of the academic year, as suggested by Education Minister Branislav Gröhling, who recommended that they postpone it until September 28. Several schools, including Comenius University in Bratislava, the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, and the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, said they will start the academic year on September 21.
Hundreds of Slovak companies have moved their headquarters to tax havenssince the beginning of the year. Currently, 5,268 Slovak companies reside in countries with tax advantages, as stems from an analysis by the Bisnode consulting company.
The unemployment rate rose only slightly in July compared with the previous month. Altogether 66,800 people have lost a job since the coronavirus outbreak in March.
The Public Procurement Office approved the proposal that the railwaybetween Bratislava and the Czech border will be built by the consortium around Váhostav. The Transport Ministry now has to greenlight the order worth €275 million, but it has already said it would do so.
Finance Minister Eduard Heger (OĽaNO) agreed with municipalities that it will be possible to cover the losses in their budget caused by the current macro-developments with a loan from the state. It is now up to municipalities to decide whether they will take one.
A new 26,000 metre squaredproduction hall is to be built in the Mountpark Sereď logistics park. The Mountpark Logistics developer claims it may create 300 new working positions.
The state-run postal service operator Slovenská Pošta will issue a COVID-19postal stamp. Its motif features a girl wearing a mask with dispersed coronaviruses around. Its value was set to €2, and it will be possible to buy it from August 21.
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