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National coronavirus tests in Slovakia will be voluntary. However, those who do not participate in it must undergo a 10-day quarantine, Prime Minister Igor Matovic said after a meeting of the Slovak Security Council in Bratislava on Tuesday.
The government of Bratislava decided on Sunday to test the entire population of the country for coronavirus.
The large-scale action, which has been in the works for three weeks to the exclusion of the public, will begin at the end of the week with trial tests in some of the districts most at risk from the coronavirus epidemic.
Most testing will take place over two weekends, October 30-November 1 and November 6 -8.
People (Slovakia has a population of over five million) undergo antigen testing, of which the state has ordered around 13 million units. The test results can be evaluated after about 15-30 minutes.
According to official reports, around 6,000 test sites will be installed across the country, a number essentially equal to the number of electoral districts. Each test site will require an average of seven to eight people, even accompanied by volunteers. The army will also participate in the operation. Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad said the army had mobilized 8,000 soldiers to carry out the tests. Soldiers will also provide the necessary disinfections.
Hospitals in Slovakia are currently treating 638 patients, 51 of whom need a ventilator, Zuzana Eliáąová, a spokeswoman for the Health Ministry, said on Tuesday.
(MTI)
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