President: Gov't Still Hasn't Given Answer as to Who Failed in Managing Pandemic

Bratislava, 6 March (TASR) - The sixth anniversary of the first case of COVID-19 in Slovakia should serve as a reminder that health is people's highest priority and that the state mustn't fail to protect it, President Peter Pellegrini has posted on social media. The president views it as negative that the government and its proxy haven't yet given an answer as to who was responsible for the failures in managing the pandemic and where mistakes were made. "Let this day be a reminder for all of us that health is people's top priority and that the state must not fail to protect it. Let's honour the memory of all those who paid the highest price for the pandemic," said the head of state, who recalled that the pandemic management was marked by chaos and everyday confusion shortly after the outbreak of the pandemic. "Instead of protecting lives, the egos of the governing politicians were being dealt with, and during the second and third waves of the pandemic Slovakia fell from first place to last. People were dying in their thousands, disproportionately more than in countries that didn't experiment when protecting people's health," he said. Pellegrini stressed that the families of the pandemic's victims, as well as everyone else, still don't know where the mistakes were made and what should be avoided in the event of a potential future disaster. "That's why I view very negatively the fact that the government and its proxy still haven't provided people with answers to the questions of who failed in managing the pandemic and where the mistakes were made that cost human lives," he said. Pellegrini praised everyone who fought COVID-19, both in health-care facilities and within their own families. "And I am saddened by all the lives lost, especially those that might have been saved," he added. On Friday, Slovakia commemorates the Day of Coronavirus Pandemic Victims, as the first case of SARS-CoV-2 infection, which causes COVID-19, was confirmed in Slovakia on 6 March 2020. The infected individual was a 52-year-old man from Kostoliste near Malacky (Bratislava region). A month later, on 6 April 2020, the first two coronavirus-related deaths were confirmed in Slovakia. Since then, coronavirus has claimed the lives of more than 21,000 people in the country. ko/df