PRAGUE (Reuters) – Slovakia reported more than 2,000 new daily cases of the novel coronavirus for the first time on Friday, meaning the country now has one of the fastest infection rates in Europe.
The central European country was among the most successful at containing the virus during the pandemic’s first wave in the spring. But like the rest of Europe it is facing a stronger second wave, a test for the government as it seeks to avoid another strict lockdown while curbing the virus’s spread.
The Health Ministry recorded 2,075 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday to bring the total in the country of 5.5 million to 26,300 since March. Of those, 19,047 are considered active, a threefold increase in October alone, while 7,182 have recovered and 71 people have died.
Slovakia has reported 244 cases per 100,000 people over the last 14 days, the ninth highest rate in Europe, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), and compared with 70 at the end of September.
(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Catherine Evans)
