Mayor: If Gov't Decides on Repeated Mass Testing, I'm Considering Defiance

Bratislava, November 1 (TASR) – If the national Government in Slovakia orders repeated countrywide testing for the coronavirus, the local authority in the Bratislava borough of Karlova Ves will consider resisting the decision, said mayor Dana Cahojova on Sunday.

“I’m flirting with the idea that if a second testing round is ordered in Bratislava, I’ll propose to refuse obedience on behalf of Karlova Ves,” Cahojova wrote on a social network.

“I won’t abuse the good will and labour of so many nice and decent people, who’ve reconciled with almost everything,” said Cahojova, pointing both to a chaos in preparation for the mass testing, announced a mere two weeks ago, and its results. She noted that out of 15,800 people tested in Karlova Ves on Saturday, there were only 40 positives.

“Based on this weekend event, I’ll demand cafes, gyms and confectioneries be allowed to reopen immediately. If this is a victory, then it should be utilised,” said Cahojova.

Similar feelings towards the possible repeated testing, albeit not with such strong vocabulary, were also expressed by mayors of other boroughs. Martin Chren of Ruzinov noted that there were 280 positives out of 64,000 people tested in his borough on Saturday.

“While 230,000 people were tested [in Bratislava] with only 700 positives, there were also districts in Slovakia with 10-15-times higher figures. So it would probably be wiser to test again there in order to eliminate the hotspots,” said Jan Hrcka, mayor of the largest borough Petrzalka.

Hrcka also complained about a lack of clarity concerning financial compensation by the state for the local authorities for organising the mass testing.

“At the beginning, we were told that we should hurry up to do it all, while the issue of money would be discussed later. Now we’ve been told that we should present our cost and they’ll decide what will be acknowledged,” complained Hrcka.