Slovakia tests half of country’s population for coronavirus in a single day

Slovakia, a country in Europe, has tested nearly half of its complete population for coronavirus on Saturday, according to the reports emerged on international media.

The tests came as part of a two-day government-led nationwide testing surge, with authorities hopeful that widespread testing will help reverse the countries growing infection rate.

The Slovakia’s minister of defense, Jarsolav Nad’, said that of the 2.58 million citizens tested for COVID-19 on Saturday, in which 25,850 had tested positive for the disease. Those citizens tested positive were asked by the government to quarantine them.

The coronavirus test was free and voluntary for those that participated, but Slovak authorities did say that those that did not get tested will be put on lockdown and banned from work, reports said.

“Freedom must go together with responsibility toward those who … are the weakest among us, oncology patients, old people, people with other diseases,” Igor Matovic, the country’s prime minister said to a news conference, according to the reports

The coronavirus cases have continued to surge its lethal spread globally. On Monday, the death toll from the virus increased to over 1.2 million worldwide, with nearly 46.5 million cases reported.