PRAGUE (Reuters) – Slovakia reported its biggest daily jump in new coronavirus cases since April 22 on Thursday as infections rise again after a lull.
The Central European country has one of Europe’s lowest death tolls from COVID-19 and has avoided a surge in cases like its western neighbours since the pandemic struck in March.
On Wednesday, it recorded 53 new cases, according to Health Ministry data, which was the seventh day since June 30 the daily rise had been in double digits.
In total, it has reported 1,851 cases, of which 1,477 have recovered and 28 have died.
“53 new cases. Too many for us to continue to rely on people’s responsibility. Unfortunately,” Prime Minister Igor Matovic wrote on his Facebook page, without giving more details.
It was not clear if that meant restrictions would be reimposed. The prime minister’s office had no further comment.
The Health Ministry said, however, the situation was under control.
“Regional health authorities have identified outbreaks and set anti-epidemic measures. We are continuously monitoring the situation,” the ministry said.
Slovakia was among the first to implement strict measures against the COVID-19 illness in March, which helped it to keep case numbers low. Most of those measures have now been eased.
The recent rise in cases comes as Europe opens up for summer holidays and it follows a period in May and June where Slovak case numbers rose mostly in the single digits each day. The biggest daily spike was 114 in the middle of April.
** For an interactive graphic on new coronavirus cases in Slovakia: https://tmsnrt.rs/2xd7Rox
(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Alison Williams and Angus MacSwan)
