Premier: 1,506 Positive People So Far Identified in Orava and Bardejov Testing

Premier: 1,506 Positive People So Far Identified in Orava and Bardejov Testing

Bratislava, October 23 (TASR) – During the first day of the pilot stage of testing for COVID-19 in Orava area (Zilina region) and Bardejov district (Presov region), 1,506 infected people were identified by 5 p.m., which is 3.63 percent out of 41,433 people tested, Prime Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) told a briefing on Friday.


The premier estimates that 60,000 people could be tested by 8 p.m., that is a third of the population of the districts where the testing is being carried out.

“It seems that the method we’ve chosen is 25 times faster in identifying infectious people with COVID-19 than the method we’ve chosen so far, which is used in virtually all countries in the world, and that is RT-PCR testing,” said the premier, pointing out the limited capacities in usual testing. According to him, we are able to detect 230 positives per day using PCR tests in the tested districts.

The prime minister also called on people who had a negative result to continue to behave responsibly. “What can take us completely back to the same problem that Orava and Bardejov are in today is if people who pass the test and haven’t been infectious today think they aren’t and won’t be dangerous for their surroundings today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow,” he stressed.

Matovic continues to believe that comprehensive testing is an effective remedy for coping with the pandemic. However, it’s necessary for as many inhabitants as possible to participate in both dates, ideally 80-90 percent of people.

According to Matovic, a total of 19,000 health professionals volunteered. However, many can only help with testing for a certain amount of time. Therefore, he’ll continue to ask them for help with the next dates.