Country-wide testing for COVID-19 is worthwhile – over 3.6 million people tested with 1% of all those tested diagnosed positive

Op Shared Responsibility met the objective of its Phase II following the pilot testing in Orava and Bardejov. A total of 3,625,332 people were tested in the first round of the country-wide testing for coronavirus from Friday to Sunday, with 38,359 positive cases. This equates to around 1% of all people tested who must now remain in self-isolation. The figures include data from all testing sites under the remit of the SVK Armed Forces, including swab tests performed in hospitals, ministries and departments, care homes, businesses and critical infrastructure companies.

Speaking about the first round of the country-wide testing this past weekend, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “Not only did we accomplish the set task with honour as part of the first round of the country-wide testing, but we can also say that it was a real success. The latest data confirms that this project is worthwhile. It is not easy, but it is worthwhile.” According to his words, the mass testing fully proved its worth in Orava and Bardejov too. For example, Tvrdošín recorded a 4.85% positivity rate under the pilot testing phase two weeks ago and less than a 2% positivity rate last weekend. The latest test results are viewed as a huge success in the fight against the virus by the rest of the Cabinet members, led by Prime Minister Igor Matovič.

Prime Minister Igor Matovič said: “I want to thank all those who have been involved in this unprecedented project. I think the results speak for themselves. Given the scale of this demanding operation, if there were any difficulties or irregularities, we all can just wink at them and keep going.” Once again, he was thankful to all people participating in the project. Thanks to their efforts, a large number of people infected with COVID-19, who would otherwise have continued to spread the virus, were successfully identified and placed in self-isolation. “Around 5% of coronavirus-infected people will end up in hospitals, where approx. 1% of all hospitalised COVID-19 positive patients die. Looking at the latest figures, we can count how many lives we have saved together. We all deserve a symbolic round of applause and a huge ‘Thank You’,” said the Prime Minister.

Overall turnout in the first round of the nation-wide testing was projected to be around 3.7-3.8 million people. Of all the places throughout Slovakia, the hardest hit was Čadca with a positivity rate of 3.22%. Among the districts with high positivity rates were Stará Ľubovňa (2.80%) and Púchov (2.65%), while lowest positivity rates were reported in the districts of Revúca (0.27%), Banská Štiavnica (0.28%) and Rožňava (0.29%). The highest turnout rates were reported in Žilina (111,155), while the lowest turnout rates were in Medzilaborce (6,980).

On Saturday, all 4,950 testing sites were open, while 4,912 testing sites (99.2%) were functional with 4,873 testing teams. As the majority of people turned up for testing on Saturday, Sunday saw only 4,883 testing sites open, while 4,782 (97.9%) testing sites were functional with 4,782 testing teams.

During the weekend, over 40,000 soldiers, police officers, firefighters, rescuers, health professionals, members of the Financial Administration Authority, self-governing authorities and volunteers were on the ground to support the operation. The Armed Forces have covered nearly 600,000km. These are set to increase, as the logistical operation is still underway. Over 2,000 lorries and vehicles, including private cars, were used by all personnel for this purpose. They transported almost 5,000 tonnes of material. Countless hours were spent to distribute supplies to Regional Commands (RC) and redistribute them to testing sites across the whole of Slovakia.