⁍ Slovakia plans to use up to 8,000 armed forces personnel to support mass testing of the population for COVID-19.

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⁍ The country of 5.5 million wants to test people over the age of 10 over two weekends from Oct. 30 using so-called antigen tests.

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⁍ The government will launch a pilot phase in the most affected regions on Oct. 23.

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– With the H1N1 virus surging in Slovakia, the country is turning to the military for help. The government has approved the use of up to 8,000 armed forces personnel to support mass testing of people over the age of 10 for the virus, which has killed 92 in the country so far, Reuters reports. The tests, which will be carried out over two weekends in late October, will use antigen tests, which produce faster results but are often less accurate than standard PCR tests. Slovakia has tightened restrictions, including banning indoor dining and closing many public venues, as it faces a bigger surge in cases than in the first wave of the pandemic, when it used strict lockdowns to keep the virus’s spread relatively low compared to European neighbors. The country reported 1,567 new infections on Saturday and passed 2,000 cases in a single day for the first time on Thursday. In total, cumulative cases have reached 29,835, almost triple the amount seen in late September.