Matovic: Blackout May Take Place in Country with View to Starting Economy

Bratislava, April 1 (TASR) – Prime Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) conceded on Wednesday that a so-called ‘blackout’, by which he imagines an extraordinary state lasting several weeks, may be introduced in Slovakia.

People’s mobility would effectively be lowered to a minimum, while “military discipline” would be observed and the army would take care of supplies. According to Matovic, such a temporary state would make it possible to jump start the economy as early as possible, as it’s set to suffer long term given the current situation.

“We’re really facing this decision [whether a blackout will take place]. From the medical point of view, we’ve managed to get the virus on its knees via the introduced measures. The course of the spread of the disease in the country is basically following a flat curve … However, if we keep the virus at bay from the medical viewpoint in order to protect lives, we strangle the economy, we grab it by the neck, as quarantine has been in place for a long time. The economy is on its knees just like the virus. This is the situation that we’re in,” stated Matovic.

The prime minister stated that a year from now, if a vaccine isn’t developed by then, the country could still find itself in the current mode. “And that’s a long-lasting economic death. That’s my own as well as several other economists’ opinion,” he noted.

According to the premier, Slovakia can currently choose one of two paths. The first one is to have low numbers of infected people but with the country dying economically. “The other option is to make short work of the virus, just like they did in Wuhan in China when they managed to eliminate the virus to a minimum thanks to drastic measures. These are the two options we’re facing. I want us as a society to decide which path to follow,” stated Matovic.