Illustrative stock photo (source: TASR)
Our paywall policy
The Slovak Spectator has decided to leave all the articles about the coronavirus available for everyone. If you appreciate our work and would like to support good journalism, please buy our subscription. We believe this is an issue where accurate and fact-based information is important for people to cope.
An emergency situation will apply for all of Slovakia as of Thursday, March 12.
>> For all the news about the coronavirus in Slovakia, click here.
“We do not want to wait until the situation worsens,” PM Peter Pellegrini told the press conference on Wednesday evening.
The emergency situation means the state can issue orders without the need to follow long bureaucratic deadlines. Pellegrini explained the state can, for example, enforce supplies of goods and services in the territory of Slovakia.
“If we know that medical goods are located in companies in Slovakia and the companies are planning to export it, we can order them to sell it to the state and not to export,” PM explained, adding that they are not planning to nationalise any goods but rather purchase them.
The crisis staff will meet again on Thursday morning to decide on closing all schools around the country for 14 days. Another measure they are pondering is to oblige all the people arriving to Slovakia from abroad to be quarantined.
Currently, only those arriving to Slovakia from Italy, China, South Korea and Iran are required to stay at home quarantine for 14 days.
Interior Minister Denisa Saková added they will also discuss the opening hours of the state offices, as the ministry has recorded a rapid increase in visits to its contact centres in recent days.
