Lengvarsky: I Expect 2,500-3,500 Positive Tests Every Day in Late October

Bratislava, October 20 (TASR) – I expect 2,500 to 3,500 people to test positive for novel coronavirus on a daily basis at the end of October, head of the Health Ministry Vladimir Lengvarsky (an OLaNO nominee) stated after the Government meeting on Wednesday, adding that the development confirms the ministry’s assumptions.

The ministry assumes the daily increase of hospital patients will stand at 150-250. The number of people admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 could reach 1,600, while 170 patients could need lung ventilation. “We expect a daily average of deaths of between 23-32 people and a total of 450-550 people in October,” said Lengvarsky.

“We are at 19 percent of hospital occupancy, but we see big regional differences,” stated the minister, pointing to Presov hospital, with 44 percent of the maximum capacity, while Nitra has only about seven percent.

Last week, an average of 2,438 new COVID-19 cases occurred each day. Hospitals admitted 736 people, up 52 compared to the week before. The number of hospitalised people increased by 22 percent to 966.

Lengvarsky stated that in connection with the approaching All Souls’ Day, he is not considering tightening up travel or introducing comprehensive testing. On Thursday (October 21), the expert consilium is to deal with the benefits for those vaccinated in black (third-degree warning) districts.

Ten districts will be considered black, according to the COVID-19 automaton as of next Monday (October 25), while 30 districts will be treated as dark red (a second-degree warning), 27 as red (a first-degree warning), 12 as orange (alert) and none as green (monitoring).