Slovak flu epidemic affecting public transport

The current influenza epidemic sweeping Slovakia is prolonging intervals in public city transport in Bratislava. This was reported by the Hospodárske Noviny on Tuesday. According to the paper, the Bratislava City Transport Company (DPB) declared an extraordinary situation on Monday, in which five city links will operate with longer waiting times until next Friday (March 2) due to a lack of drivers. According to DPB spokesperson Adriana Volfová, 173 out of a total of 1,480 company drivers are currently on a sick leave due to contracting the flu. DPB has assured passengers will be compensated for any reduced comfort by the use of bigger buses. The restrictions will chiefly hit residents living in the Bratislava borough of Petržalka. Railway companies have also reported an increase in the number of employees infected with influenza. The passenger rail carrier ZSSK had some five percent of its staff on sick leave in December 2017, while it was 6.6 percent in January.