Slovakia sees virus deaths soar, blames U.K. variant

Slovakia has become the country with most COVID-19 deaths by size of population in the world

Slovakia Teachers Vaccination

Slovakia has become the nation with most COVID-19 deaths by size of population in the world amid a surge of cases from a highly contagious coronavirus variant.

Despite a tough lockdown, the seven-day rolling average of daily deaths in Slovakia has risen from 1.68 deaths per 100,000 people on Feb. 1 to 1.78 deaths per 100,000 people on Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University figures issued Tuesday.

Portugal which topped the global table for more than three weeks, dropped to second with 1.48 deaths per 100,000 people.

“The most significant factor that has prevented coronavirus cases from falling in Slovakia is a high occurrence of the variant that was found in Britain,” Marek Majdan, a Slovak epidemiologist and vice-rector of Trnava University, told The Associated Press.

Earlier this month, the government announced the fast-spreading coronavirus variant first found in Britain had became dominant in Slovakia, after health authorities sequenced all samples that tested positive across the country in one day.

The British variant was detected in 74% of them, which Health Minister Marek Krajci called “an unbelievable high number.”

“The lockdown, which worked effectively against the original virus, isn’t as effective against the more infectious variant,” Majdan said.

Researchers have also found that the variant dominant in the U.K. is also more deadly than the original virus.

In Slovakia's lockdown, people in a majority of counties where the situation is considered serious need to take a coronavirus test every seven days to be able to go to work.

The government’s plan to partially reopen schools has been cancelled for the hardest-hit counties.

Another 111 people died in Slovakia of COVID-19 on Monday for a total of 6,063 in the nation of 5.4 million. Over 3,800 of the deaths have come this year.

Majdan said mathematical models suggest that by June between 9,000 and 11,000 might have died of COVID-19 in Slovakia if the current trend continues.

The country was getting ready to tighten its rules for international travelers on Wednesday to try to prevent the infectious virus variants are spreading. The authorities plan to enforce the new measures by reimposing border checks.

The country’s hospitals are still under pressure, treating 3,872 COVID-19 patients on Monday, only 23 fewer than the record high that was hit the previous day. The Health Ministry has called on volunteers to help medical workers cope with the surge.

Majdan said a fast vaccination program was the key to improving the situation.

“In Britain, they have vaccinated 15% of the population who faced the highest risk and we can clearly see the death rate falling. I hope we will do the same in Slovakia,” he said.

The 27-nation European Union, to which Slovakia belongs, has been criticized by many for its slow vaccine rollout.

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