Slovakia becomes the first country in the world to test its entire population for coronavirus

Slovakia has started its drive to test its complete adult population in a bid to slow the extent of the second wave of deadly COVID-19 pandemic currently ripping through Europe.

The mass testing drive started on Saturday with 5,000 testing sites dotted about the country and involves healthcare workers from Hungary and Austria but long lines were still a familiar sight.

“I’m here from around 7 o’clock so I’ve been waiting for around three hours. I’ve just been tested,” said one man.

People had different plans for the long wait.

“I’m relishing the nice weather here. And questioning if this is the right thing. But we think yes, this is a good policy, and we want to save our country,” said a woman queuing with her cup of drink in the rain.

The antigen test provides results in just 15 minutes. The mass testing campaign is voluntary so those who do not take part have to quarantine for ten days.

The eastern European nation of 5.5 million aims to become the first country to test its entire adult people.

In the small village of Veľké Úľany, some 50 km from capital Bratislava, attendance was high.

Ján Duránsky, head official, Galanta District said, “They come and come and come for the testing. 

But some have reprimanded the government’s handling of the programme which was created in just ten days. František Gőgh, Mayor, Veľké Úľany said, “The information we obtained about the testing changed day by day. This made the preparations a bit harder in the villages.”

It follows a rapid rise of coronavirus infections in the country since the end of summer and around 3,000 confirmed cases daily in the last few weeks.

According to  the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Slovakia has reported 57,664 verified cases of COVID-19 and 219 deaths since the start of the pandemic