The Slovak government approved a two-week national lockdown to combat a record rise in coronavirus infections.
Prime Minister Eduard Heger said that the measures that take effect on Thursday are applicable to everyone, vaccinated and not vaccinated.
During the lockdown, people will be allowed to leave their homes only for certain specific reasons, including buying essential goods in the stores closest to their homes, going to work or school, getting vaccinated, getting diagnostic tests or to receive medical attention.
The unvaccinated will have to undergo diagnostic tests to go to work if they have not gotten sick and recovered from COVID-19.
In addition, some 1,000 members of the armed forces will help the overwhelmed health sector each day cope with the pandemic.
The Health Ministry said daily infections exceeded 10,000 for the first time, with 10,315 positive cases on Tuesday. That surpasses by more than 1,000 the record set just on Friday.
With 13,080 infections per million inhabitants in the last seven days, the country of 5.5 million people faces the worst increase in the world, according to Our World In Data.
President Zuzana Caputova had said that the confinement was “inevitable”. “We are losing the battle against COVID,” Caputova said Tuesday.
Jan Mikas, top government official for the pandemic response, said that “the only solution is to restrict movement.”
On Monday, Slovakia imposed new restrictions on the unvaccinated, who are prohibited from entering all non-essential businesses and shopping centers. They also cannot attend public events or congregations.
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