Covid a runaway train, says Slovak PM as we face Halloween curfew, tests and fines – and ‘come home’ plea goes out to doctors

Covid 19 is a runaway train according to Slovak PM Igor Matovič as he mobilises the army to carry out millions of tests and imposes a curfew-style lock-down.

“It’s as if we were travelling on a train whose brakes have stopped working,” he said, according to the SITA newswire. “We have to stop the train in some way.”

The number of people infected by coronavirus keeps growing despite measures introduced on October 15. Now Slovakia is facing a three week lock-down from Halloween.

And it could cost the country €2 billion.

Matovic has ordered the testing of the country’s 5.45 million people and the military is setting up 5,000 sites across the country.

The army will be testing citizens over 10 years old. Those who refuse face 10 days quarantine or a fine of US$1,949.

A group of lawyers are reported to have described Matovič’s actions as unconstitutional and against fundamental personal rights.

But Matovič said “it’s the hardest decisions that any Slovak government ever had to take”.

The decision was taken as Slovakia faced a record increase of daily cases, after 2,202 people tested positive for the coronavirus on October 20.

At least 1,273 medical workers have been infected with the coronavirus so far, including 286 doctors.

The Slovak Medical Chamber called on Slovak doctors working abroad to come home to help. “Please, come home, we need you,” the head of the chamber, Marian Kollar said.

The situation is worsening in the districts of Martin, Ružomberok, Liptovský Mikuláš, and Sabinov, which are close to the four most affected districts of Námestovo, Tvrdošín, Dolný Kubín and Bardejov.

The Ukraine has put Slovakia in the red zone, and people arriving in the country have to show a negative PCR or go into isolation.

Slovakia has been praised for its response to the pandemic. It was one of the first countries in Europe to close its borders and introduce mandatory mask-wearing even before it had any cases.

Meanwhile, the number of people dying of coronavirus in England and Wales rose for the first time in five months in September. But it is still only the 19th most common cause of death.

Office for National Statistics data show 725 people died with Covid-19 – although not necessarily because of it – up from 576 in August.

This was the first time the number had increased since the first wave of disease slammed into Britain in April, when deaths soared from 1,700 to 31,000 in a month. 

On the positive side however, a covid-19 vaccine developed at Oxford University is said to work perfectly and builds strong immunity.

The hopes over the vaccine, which is said to safely trigger an immune response in volunteers given it in early trials. But, unlike traditional vaccines which use a weakened virus, or small amounts of it, the innovative Oxford jab causes the body to make part of the virus itself.

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