Public Health Office: Quarantining of Communities Not Carried Out Automatically

Bratislava, February 25 (TASR) - Regional public health offices don"t quarantine communities automatically, but only after thoroughly assessing local conditions and the habits of the population in question, Public Health Authority spokeswoman Dasa Rackova stated on Thursday in reaction to Ombudswoman Maria Patakyova, who criticised on the same day the way in which Roma communities in Slovakia have been quarantined during the pandemic. According to Rackova, the aim isolation measures is to prevent novel coronavirus from uncontrollably spreading in a given area. The spokeswoman noted that epidemiologists have opted to quarantine entire Roma communities because they were often provided with diverging information on the contacts of locals with COVID-19 positive people and they also noticed that locals are unwilling to observe home isolation and anti-virus measures. "We are obliged to issue regulations aimed at preventing the spread of infectious diseases and so protect the lives and health of people according to the law on the protection of the public health. This concerns all infectious diseases..., not only COVID-19," noted Rackova. zel/mcs