Krajci Calls on Health Professionals and Students to Help with Testing

Bratislava, October 20 (TASR) – Health Minister Marek Krajci (OLaNO) has called on health professionals and students of the fifth and sixth grades of medical faculties and students of nursing and emergency medicine as of the second year of study to register to assist in the across-the-board testing for coronavirus due to take place over the upcoming weekends.

Slovakia needs some 20,000 such people for this purpose, Krajci told a news conference held on Tuesday with Prime Minister Igor Matovic in attendance.

Those who want to assist in the testing can register via website korona.gov.sk. They should receive €7 per hour plus a risk bonus amounting to €20 per positive case discovered. Krajci believes there will be enough health workers and students to help deal with the tasks.

Matovic said that the testing will most likely be voluntary, but anybody who fails to show a negative test result when requested to do so will have to remain in quarantine for ten days. The prime minister still wants to discuss the issue with the command of the Slovak Armed Forces.

“We want the testing to be as voluntary as possible,” said Matovic, adding that those who don’t trust state testing can have themselves tested in private labs, but they’ll have to pay for it themselves.