Coronavirus around the world: Health gaps in Cyprus do not apply without a booster – World

From 25 November to 9 December, Slovakia will be in national quarantine, leaving home only for work, going to school, shopping for food, visiting a doctor and nature walks. Restaurants and non-food stores are closed.

The Slovak government imposed a lockdown following an emotional address by President Zuzana Chaputova on Wednesday, in which she said the country was losing the battle with COVID-19 and needed to be shut down because health personnel were overtired.

“The situation is serious. We came here because (existing) measures were not followed,” said Prime Minister Eduard Heger, after the weekly number of new cases exceeded 10,000 a day.

Adjusted for its population, Slovakia is experiencing the fastest increase in infections in the world, according to Our World in Data, Reuters reports.

Heger said the measures would be evaluated in 10 days and there would be a possible easing only for those vaccinated.

Schools and kindergartens remain open, but students will be tested regularly and will wear masks in class. Going out for walks will be possible only within the settlement. Everyone who can will work from home. Restaurants sell only for deliveries.

Slovakia is one of four European countries with less than 50% vaccinated population, along with Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia. According to the European Health Agency, 45.7% of Slovaks are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The number of hospitalized patients reached 3,200, with beds in some hospitals running out. Dagmar Sudekova, deputy director of a hospital in Zilina in one of the worst-hit regions, told state television RTVS on Tuesday that more than 80% of patients were unvaccinated.

Slovakia is the second European country after Austria to have a national quarantine.

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