The first batch of the delivery of antigen tests for COVID-19 procured by the Economy Ministry has already arrived in Slovakia, Economy Minister Richard Sulík (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) posted on a social network on Thursday. The delivery contains 2.6 million test kits. An additional 2.6 million kits out of the total of 8 million are due to arrive in Slovakia at the end of the next week. Sulík was tasked to procure 16 million antigen tests at the session of the Government on November 19, 2020, with planned deliveries scheduled for December. However, he informed Prime Minister Igor Matovič (OĽaNO) that he would not be able to make the deadlines without violating the law. Subsequently, on December 4, the Cabinet amended the assignment and reduced the number of test kits to 8 million.
The procurement of the test kits became a bone of contention between Sulík and Matovič. While Sulík claimed that he had received inaccurate specs for the tests from the Health Ministry, Matovič accused Sulík of incompetence and repeatedly lambasted him for the failure to have the tests delivered. The situation escalated in mid-December, when Matovič called Sulík "an idiot" on a radio talk show and urged him to resign as the Economy Minister.
Source: TASR
