Matovic: Phase 2 of Re-opening Economy Won't Come Sooner Than May 6

The second phase of re-opening the Slovak economy won’t take place sooner than May 6, even though the number of new coronavirus cases hasn’t been growing rapidly in recent days, Prime Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) stated on television channel Markiza’s show ‘Na telo’ (Tough Questions) on Sunday.

According to the prime minister, the situation seems good as only six new positive cases were registered on Saturday. “So far, it seems that phase two could take place in two weeks. It won’t be sooner than May 6. We shouldn’t hasten it,” noted Matovic.
The premier is of the opinion that the anti-coronavirus measures that have been introduced in the country have delivered great effects.

At the same time, Matovic called on the public to keep behaving responsibly. He admitted that he’s concerned that people will gradually stop obeying the set rules and will, for example, stop wearing face masks or they’ll start to travel more. He opines that the situation might “get out of hand” if this happens.

Speaking of relations within the coalition, Matovic stated that head of Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) “Richard Sulik and his party are somewhat distancing away from us”, adding that head of We Are Family Boris Kollar and his party keep their word, which is why Matovic has grown accustomed to the latter.

When asked whether he could imagine shops closing on Sundays even after the coronacrisis, Matovic replied that it’s something he’d want. “The agreement in the coalition is that this is only a temporary measure during the coronacrisis, especially due to SaS’s stance on this,” he noted.