Slovakia approves a two-week national blockade as the virus surges

Bratislava, Slovakia — On Wednesday, the Slovak government approved a two-week national blockade amid a record surge in coronavirus infections.

Prime Minister Eduardo Hager said the measures coming into effect on Thursday would cover both unvaccinated and vaccinated.

Under the blockade, people can only leave the house for certain reasons. This includes buying essentials at the store closest to your home, traveling to work or school, vaccination, coronavirus testing, or treatment.

Unvaccinated people will need to be tested to go to work if they have not recovered from COVID-19. If they are unable to work from home, people will need to have a document from their employer containing details of their working hours about where their workplace is.

Dog walks are allowed within 500 yards of people’s homes.

Hager called this measure “unavoidable.” “It depends on all the citizens,” he said.

Economic Minister Richard Slick said his freedom and solidarity party, a member of the four-party ruling coalition, rejected the proposal to close most schools. However, they agreed that school children and students would be tested on a regular basis.

You also need to wear a face cover at school.

The government also announced on Wednesday that it would support the health sector, where up to 1,000 military personnel are struggling to cope with a pandemic each day.

This announcement was made after Slovakia set a record of coronavirus infection.

The Ministry of Health said Tuesday that 10,315 tests were positive and daily infections exceeded 10,000 for the first time. That’s over 1,000 more than the previous record registered on Friday.

According to Our World In Data, there have been 13,080 infections per million people in the last seven days, and 5.5 million countries are facing the worst surge in the world.

The government was considering a two- or three-week state blockade backed by President Zuzana Chaptowa, who called it “unavoidable.” Details will be announced later on Wednesday.

“We have lost the fight against COVID,” Caputova said on Tuesday.

Jan Mikas, chief government officer leading the response to the pandemic, said Wednesday that the new regulation should affect all unvaccinated and vaccinated people.

“The only solution is to limit movement,” Mikas said.

On Monday, Slovakia imposed new restrictions on unvaccinated people who have already been banned from all non-critical stores and shopping malls. You are also not allowed to attend public events or rallies.

With 3,200 inpatient COVID-19 patients well above the 3,000-bed level considered important by the Slovak Ministry of Health, the country may be forced to seek help from other European countries. there is.

Health Minister Vladimir Lembarski said the hospital’s ability to treat COVID-19 patients will increase by 150 beds over the next two days. The ministry said almost 83 percent of patients were not completely vaccinated.

The immunization rate for Slovakia is 45.7%, one of the lowest in the European Union.

Overall, Slovakia has enrolled 631,738 viral cases, killing 14,056 people.

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