VIDEO: This is how Matovič started area testing a year ago. What did the actors say then and what do they say today? – TVNOVINY.sk

A year has passed since the nationwide testing of the population of Slovakia for COVID-19. During the weekend of October 31 and November 1, 2020, 3,625,332 people were tested by antigen tests. The then Prime Minister Igor Matovic came up with the idea at a time when the second wave was beginning to rise to its peak. After the summer release, the number of positive numbers rose again and hospitals were also filled. Matovič came up with testing as a way to find the most positive ones, isolate them and stop the spread of the disease. From testing, he promised that thanks to him we would avoid the hard lockdown, which was gradually introduced by all countries in Europe and the world.

The whole coalition agreed on the area testing, and Matovič, the then Minister of Health Marek Krajčí and the Minister of Labor Milan Krajniak personally helped at the sampling points. In total, more than 5,000 of them were open in all municipalities and cities in Slovakia. This was possible despite the fact that the evening before the start of testing, President Zuzana Čaputová spoke with the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, Daniel Zmek, who informed her that it was not possible to meet the goal.

The result was questioned

After extensive testing, the number of positive cases actually decreased. Krajčí declared that we are unique in the world and we should already spend Christmas in a peaceful atmosphere. However, experts did not agree on whether the primary testing or the curfew that was introduced during the testing helped.

About a month after testing, the virus began to spread again in large numbers, and before Christmas the government adopted a partial lockdown. It did not work and the government had to negotiate during the holidays and make a decision to close the country from January 1. All this time he was accompanied by a dispute between Matovič and the Minister of Economy Richard Sulík. According to Matovič, Sulík should have bought antigen tests for the next rounds of testing. However, he argued that taking a large number of tests takes several weeks. Since the beginning of 2021, Slovakia, like other countries, has introduced a strict curfew and people could only go to work with negative test results, which were still done for free throughout the country.

We addressed the main actors in how they evaluate nationwide testing after a year.

Matovič: Fools will still grind theirs

Minister of Defense Naď, under whose authority the entire area testing project fell, does not regret the decision even after a year. He is convinced that without testing, the number of victims would be even higher.

“Nationwide testing, as well as a number of experts and scientists, is retrospectively assessed as a good decision that has captured thousands of infectious. Thanks to the Joint Responsibility, we have managed to reduce the morbidity curve, and I am convinced that if we did not take this bold, but extremely necessary and important step, there would be many more casualties, ”says Naď.

Former Prime Minister and now Minister of Finance Igor Matovič commemorated the “anniversary” of testing on Facebook. “Machri, who unlocked it a year ago. Of course, fools will still grind their own, but the facts cannot be denied – area testing at that time stopped the supply of new patients to hospitals for a month and significantly reduced the number of new cases per month. And the men and women in these photos made a significant contribution to this. Thank you very much, “said Matovič.

The Minister of Labor Krajniak does not regret the testing either. He says that in Orava, Bardejov and Nitra they used tests to knock down the curve of the infected. However, he is skeptical whether a similar tool would be effective today.

“I can’t judge whether it would make sense today, because delta variants are much more infectious. I am not able to evaluate whether it would make sense today, “added the Minister of Labor.

Former Minister of Health Marek Krajčí would like to thank all the citizens, medics and soldiers who took part in the testing. He admits that testing later became a political rather than a professional topic. “Further testing of the population in the autumn was not carried out due to the lack of tests not provided by the Ministry of Economy, and the government did not even approve a strict lockdown on the recommendations of the pandemic commission in December,” Krajčí recalls.

He welcomes the fact that people can now do an antigen test at home. According to the ex-minister, countries that continue to use antigen tests are better at managing the pandemic. An example is Germany, which, according to Krajčí, recorded a 41% drop in infection in the population in the spring when tested by antigen tests twice a week.

Epidemiologist Martin Pavelka was one of the experts who supported the testing. His study, which examined the decline of positives after three rounds of testing, also published the prestigious scientific journal Science. The study examined the effect of antigen testing and other epidemiological measures on the effect of the spread of infection.

We were also inspired by Austria, which tested the population extensively after Christmas. Anyone who refused to participate in the testing had to comply with stricter measures, similarly to Slovakia.

In the following video, you can see a compilation of the most important moments from the nationwide testing in 2020.