Mikulec: Migrant Flow Curbed by Coronavirus, But It Isn't Zero

Vysne Nemecke, April 17 (TASR) – The coronavirus pandemic has curbed the flow of migrants through woody areas of the Slovak-Ukrainian border, which makes part of the outer Schengen Area border, but it hasn’t squeezed it to zero, said Interior Minister Roman Mikulec (OLaNO), who went to inspect the Vysne Nemecke border crossing on Friday.

“It isn’t possible at the moment to return detained people to Ukraine due to the ongoing pandemic, so we also need to deal with the placing of these people, including the length of their stay,” said Mikulec.

The minister also inquired about equipment used by border patrols. “I was intrigued to see a ground penetrating radar, used for discovering tunnels serving for the smuggling of cigarettes and other items from Ukraine to Slovakia,” he said.

Mikulec also confirmed a piece of information that one of the border guards from Vysne Nemecke was tested positive for coronavirus, with people who were in contact with this person being isolated. Nevertheless, the case has by no means affected operations of border patrols in the area, as there’s still enough personnel in Vysne Nemecke, added the minister.