Chief Hygienist: We'll Seal Off Villages Infected with COVID-19

Bratislava/Krompachy, April 9 (TASR) – Some settlements in which positive cases for COVID-19 have occurred will be closed off, Slovakia’s chief hygienist Jan Mikas stated in Krompachy (Kosice region) on Wednesday evening.

Prime Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) added that cases of infection with coronavirus have been recorded in five locations in Spis area. Three of them are in Krompachy itself, with the other two in the nearby villages of Zehra and Bystrany.

Mikas explained that the authorities will continue to monitor the situation, test and, if necessary, provide appropriate medical care in the closed settlements. “Using a measure we’ll order the affected municipalities to oversee bans and restrictions on contacts between one part of the population and another,” said Renata Hudakova, a hygiene officer at the Public Health Regional Office in Spisska Nova Ves (Kosice region).

The premier stressed that the measures are primarily designed to protect people, pointing out that the virus could spread further. He therefore called on residents to observe hygiene measures and monitor themselves for symptoms. He gave assurances that people in quarantine will be supplied with food and water.

According to Chief-of-General-Staff Daniel Zmeko, almost 800 soldiers have been deployed in the locations concerned. The Slovak Armed Forces plan to increase the number of sampling teams from four to eight during the Easter holidays.