Summary of the news: theaters, cinemas and other cultural facilities can open from Monday

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Good afternoon. The weekend is approaching and we have prepared a brief summary of the main news of the day in our Friday, January 7, 2022 edition of Today in Slovakia. We hope you enjoy reading it.

For weekend tips and readings, check out our weekly recap of spectacular Slovakia. This week, Peter Dlhopolec writes over Czechoslovakian chocolate, a walk to a waterfall and a punk rocker driving homeless people by bus.

A defense cooperation agreement with the United States sparked a wave of discontent in Slovakia weeks after it was first presented to the public.

The US-Slovak Defense Cooperation Agreement was submitted for inter-ministerial review in mid-December by Defense Minister Jaroslav Naď (OĽaNO) and is supported by Foreign Minister Ivan Korčok (SaS nominee). The interdepartmental review was recently concluded amid controversy after Attorney General Maroš Žilinka posted on Facebook that his office had submitted 35 fundamental objections.

Prime Minister Eduard Heger (OĽaNO) backed the deal on January 7, but some fear some of the ruling coalition parties are against the deal. The US Embassy stressed in its statement that the agreement neither anticipates nor authorizes the permanent presence of US troops in Slovakia.

“US forces are only allowed with the consent of Slovakia,” said US Ambassador Bridget Brink. The agreement creates the legal basis for US investment in Slovakia’s military infrastructure, according to the ambassador, the defense minister and the prime minister.

Cinemas and other cultural venues can reopen from Monday. (Source: courtesy of Kino Lumière)

Theaters, cinemas and other cultural facilities will be authorized to reopen on Monday, January 10 for people vaccinated against Covid-19 and those who have recovered from the disease (OP mode). The visitor limit is set at 50, the culture ministry said in a statement, citing an agreement approved during the cabinet’s online session on Friday, January 7.

“Vaccination is a way out of the pandemic and a way to make culture accessible to people,” Culture Minister Natália Milanová (OĽaNO) said, quoted by the SITA news wire. “After long political negotiations that I had with the Prime Minister, the Minister of Health and consultations with experts, we have made progress.”

The cabinet also extended until January 18 the shutdown of the alert system, known as the Covid automaton. This warning system was initially shut down during the curfew, which ends on Sunday January 9.

New look of the Malý Slavín recreation area. (Source: courtesy MIB)

Malý Slavín, a war memorial and popular tourist spot in the small Carpathian forests above Bratislava, has been given a facelift. The area on the road between the Bratislava districts of Záhorská Bystrica and Rača now has new shelters and chimneys. The memorial to two Soviet soldiers who perished on April 1, 1945, a well and sports fields were also renovated.

“Malý Slavín, a popular stopover for tourists, athletes, parents with children and the elderly, currently offers much better leisure opportunities,” the Bratislava Metropolitan Institute (MIB) said in a press release. “The original location was in poor technical condition and needed to be repaired regularly.

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Featured article for today

The Covid-19 pandemic has hit city budgets across Slovakia, and the capital is no exception. The coronavirus crisis devoured 25 million euros in the city’s revenue in 2020, and authorities believe last year’s figure was similar.

The budget for 2022 was approved late last year, and there are fears that further lockdowns this year will lead to further decline in revenues.

In addition to concerns about the effect Covid-19 could have on their coffers over the next 12 months, city councilors say they also face the underestimation of the capital’s population in the recent census which will affect the amount of funding that Bratislava will receive.

Bratislava questions census results as she worries about 2022 income Read more

News from the coronavirus and vaccination

• 1,116 the people were newly diagnosed as Covid positive out of 5,070 PCR tests performed on Thursday. The number of people hospitalized is 2,157 and 25 more deaths were reported Thursday. The vaccination rate is 50.05%; 2,713,817 people received the first dose of the vaccine. More statistics on Covid-19 in Slovakia here.
• Pediatrician Petra Siváková, who works in the field of immunoallergology and has cooperated with the hospital of Banská Bystrica for the vaccination of children, warns that new Covid-19 mutations could be more dangerous for children. In the first wave of the pandemic, children of all age groups were the least affected by the coronavirus, with very few showing severe symptoms. The next waves of the pandemic, and in particular the new mutations, are already significantly affecting the youngest age group.
• the the nighttime curfew will end on January 10, but most of the measures adopted by the government before Christmas Stay in place.
  

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  Travel information

Airlines companies Ryanair and Wizz Air have suspended the operation of some of their regular lines from KoÅ¡ice airport due to the spread of the Omicron variant. Wizz Air interrupted its service to Doncaster – Sheffield in Great Britain from January 7 to March 7. Ryanair is interrupting its operations on London – Stansted (January 7-February 2), Vienna (January 7-February 4), Warsaw – Modlin (Itineraries January 8-February 1 and Liverpool (January 9-February 2).

Other news

• Slovakia’s total imports and exports in November 2021 grew up by more than 10% year-on-year, with both categories exceeding pre-pandemic figures recorded in November 2019. The value of goods exported in November was the second highest on record after March 2021. Imports have also reached new levels record, exceeding 8 €. billion euros for the first time since 1993. The more dynamic growth of imports pushed the external trade balance to a deficit of 23.1 million euros, the Statistics Office reported.
• Dopravný Podnik Bratislava (DPB), the capital’s public transport company, restore the number 7, 25, 26, 92, 94, 192 and 196 lines and increase its transport capacities after the Christmas holidays from Monday January 10. From Sunday 9 January, line 131 will provide a direct connection for students traveling from the main train station to the dormitories in Mlynská Dolina. Public transport continues to follow the statutory holiday schedule.
• Passenger rail operator ZSSK resumes operations according to his 2021/2022 calendar from Monday January 10.
• Thanks to 30 new pilots, the ease of maintenance of public transport by bus in the Bratislava region will be exceed 90 percent from Monday January 10. This means that almost all lines will be served, announced Friday, January 7 Arriva, the new operator of suburban buses in the region.
• Bratislava Will throw regulated parking (PAAS) in the first three pilot districts – Dvory 4 in Petržalka, Tehelné Pole in Nové Mesto and Krasňany in Rača on Monday, January 10. Less than a week before the regulated parking system began, the city recorded more than 6,300 requests for parking cards.
• the request for green electricity among Slovak households increases from year to year. ZSE Energia, the largest domestic electricity supplier in Slovakia, controlling a market share of almost 40%, saw a sharp increase in interest in 100% green electricity last year. More than 85,000 residential customers already use the company’s green electricity.

More information on Spectator.sk today:

How The Slovak Spectator survived (editor’s letter) Read more

The small village which contains a famous pre-Romanesque church Read more

Decaying Marian column in parking lot becomes national monument Read more

If you have any suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can contact us at éditorial@spectator.sk.