PM: Crisis Team Discusses State of Emergency Throughout Slovakia

Bratislava, March 16 (TASR) – Slovakia’s central crisis management team on Monday discussed the option of declaring a state of emergency throughout the country after it was expanded on Monday for the entire health-care sector, including private facilities, said Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer-SD) at a press conference on the same day.

“We’ve left it only as a recommendation [not to roam around], but if it emerges that it isn’t enough, we’re ready … to curb the freedom of movement to necessary activities,” said Pellegrini, adding that mobile network operators will be able to provide data revealing whether the public has heeded the recommendation to limit social contacts or not.

Meanwhile, the Health Policy Institute’s models have confirmed that the Government’s moves are likely to ensure that the “peak in the number of the sick will only slightly exceed the capacities of Slovakia’s health-care system”, said Pellegrini.

The prime minister also announced that following a phone call of Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak (a Smer-SD nominee) with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Cavusoglu, Slovakia should in the next few days acquire hundreds of thousands of protective items from Turkey, including respirators and protective wear.

“Even though there have been 23 interested parties, Slovakia will probably be the only country to be allowed this delivery by Turkey,” said Pellegrini.

The central crisis management team also recommended local authorities and public transport companies to ban the entry of people without face masks or their alternatives. A similar ban is also in place for shops and public offices.

Taxis will be able to operate only for the transport of goods, not transport of people.

Eleven new cases of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus were confirmed in Slovakia on Monday, increasing the total tally to 72