At a press conference on Thursday, Prime Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) announced that Slovakia needed a more rigorous analysis into whether or not it can operate even without the state of emergency or whether the Government should keep it in effect as a form of prevention. He noted that the whole world expects a second wave of the pandemic and Slovakia must be ready for it.
On Monday (June 1), a consilium of experts is to convene and discuss the re-opening of borders with other countries. Matovic is worried, however, that the plan carries some risks. "What's in the pipeline means that as of June 15, about eight maybe nine countries will mutually reopen their borders to each other in Central and Western Europe. However, it's quite likely that there will be gaps in the system and that the countries might open themselves also to third countries where the contagion is far from being under control and in that case we could expose ourselves to a less-than-pleasant risk," he warned.
Another risk in Matovic's view stems from increased mobility of the people both inside the state and on the borders. As of Monday, about 300,000 children are due to return to nursery and elementary schools and a few thousand people also cross through the borders within the 48-hour quarantine-free regime. Because of this, the Prime Minister advises caution.
