The decision means anyone entering Slovakia from the Czech Republic will need to present a negative test or quarantine for five days. Photo credit: PxHere / For illustrative purposes.
Czech Rep., Sep 15 (BD) – The Czech Republic is to be added to Slovakia’s list of high-risk countries from Friday, it was announced yesterday. This means that anyone travelling into Slovakia from the Czech Republic, including Slovak and Czech citizens and residents, must present a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours, or enter quarantine for five days, at the end of which they must undergo a test. Exceptions include certain categories of workers such as teachers, healthcare workers, and commuters who cross the border.
There are currently 14,600 active cases in the Czech Republic, with 305 of those in hospital. In Slovakia, there are 2,516 active cases, from a cumulative total of 5,768 since the pandemic began. There are currently 107 patients in hospital with Covid-19.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis (ANO) told reporters that the Czech Republic was not a high-risk country, and attributed the difference in numbers between the two countries to Slovakia testing “five times less” than the Czech Republic. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Czech Republic has performed around 10,000 tests per 100,000 citizens, and Slovakia 7,000. The rate of positive cases is 340 per 100,000 in the Czech Republic, three times that of Slovakia.
