Slovakia has started testing everyone who is ten years old and older for the corona virus. Public health purchased 13 million rapid antigen tests. The army is deployed to help with this. The tests are free.
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The tests should take place between the end of October and the beginning of November, spread over two weekends. People who are tested negative one weekend can visit again the next weekend to rule out false negative tests.
The tests are free. Although it is not yet clear whether the tests will be mandatory or voluntary. According to the Slovak news site aktuality.sk Prime Minister Igor Matovic has said he must change the law if he wants to make the test mandatory.
The prime minister is considering rewarding people who get tested. “The more people come, the more accurate the tests will be and the better our chances,” said Matovic. He hopes that at least 90 percent of the Slovaks will participate.
The prime minister sees large-scale testing as the only way to stop the Covid-19 outbreak in Slovakia. On Thursday, 2,581 confirmed infections were added, a new record. The previous record of 2,202 was set two days earlier.
The Slovak authorities have performed a relatively low number of tests compared to other European countries. The country has a total of 37,911 confirmed cases, while 134 people have died.
Prime Minister Matovic tells TASR news agency that he will step down if his plan fails.
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