Slovakia confirms first cases of the South African virus variant

Slovakia on Sunday confirmed its first seven cases of the South African variant of the coronavirus, TASR news agency reported, citing the country's Health Ministry spokesperson Zuzanna Eliasova.

The variant was identified both in people who recently travelled abroad and those who didn't.

According to Slovakian Health Ministry data, the EU country of some 5.5 million people has recorded on average 2,400 new daily cases of the coronavirus in the last seven days.

In order to take some burden off its health-care system, Slovakia turned to its EU neighbours for help. First intensive care patients have already been transported to hospitals in Poland and Germany.

Also on Sunday, Slovakia received 15,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, a gift from France, Slovakian Prime Minister Igor Matovic said.

Matovic called the gift of vaccines "a great gesture of friendship towards Slovakia," TASR reported.

Last month French President Emmanuel Macron called on rich nations to donate 4-5 per cent of their vaccine stock to other countries that need it as quickly as possible.