On Wednesday, Slovakia recorded 53 new cases of COVID-19, which is the highest increase since April 22. Prime Minister Igor Matovič thus signaled a possible tightening of coronavirus restrictions, but has not yet announced any specific measures.
“53 new cases. Too much to continue to rely solely on people’s responsibility. Unfortunately,” Matovič wrote on his Facebook profile.
On Wednesday, 2,284 tests were performed in Slovakia. The largest number of infections was detected in the towns of Prešov (12), Bratislava and Čadca (9), and in Košice (5). Currently, seven people are hospitalized, three of them in ICU and one patient is connected to an artificial lung ventilator.
The total number of those infected since the beginning of the pandemic has reached 1,851 in Slovakia, and 28 people have died of COVID-19 so far.
Health Minister Marek Krajčí said on Wednesday that he did not consider the increase in the number of new cases to be the beginning of a second wave of the coronavirus in the country. “The origin of the disease is mostly abroad. By opening the borders, COVID-19 positive patients come here,” said Krajčí. The head of the department pointed out that currently, the most risky events for the spread of the coronavirus are mass events, discos, and nightclubs.
Czechia records over 100 new cases for third day in a row
The number of new cases of COVID-19 in the Czech Republic was above 100 for the third day in a row this week. There were 105 more on Thursday, so far 12,919 infected people have been confirmed by hygienists – 8,128 of them have been cured and 352 have died.
Information on the Ministry of Health’s website states that new infections are not appearing in all districts in the Czech Republic, outbreaks are confined to the Moravian-Silesian Region and the Kutná Hora Region.
“The virus is here and it is clearly not retreating in any way, and that should simply be taken as a fact,” said Health Minister Adam Vojtěch on Thursday. However, he also stated that individuals who are more at-risk from coronavirus are well protected.
Title image: Prime Minister of Slovakia Igor Matovic adjusts his face mask during a press conference after the V4 summit at the Lednice Chateau in Lednice, Czech Republic, Thursday, June 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
