MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Saturday, April 18, 2020 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Friday, April 17): BRATISLAVA - Nine human lives have so far been claimed by COVID-19 in Slovakia, Slovakia's chief hygienist Jan Mikas said at a press conference on Friday, with Prime Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) in attendance. BRATISLAVA - Slovakia registered 72 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the total tally up to 1,049, chief hygienist Jan Mikas stated on Friday. According to the Public Health Office, a total of 334 new positive cases have been registered this week so far. Meanwhile, laboratories have tested altogether 36,760 samples up to this point. There are currently 203 hospitalised patients who have or are suspected of having contracted the virus. The total of cured patients stands at 167. Of the total tally, most cases have concerned people aged 20-29. At the same time, Bratislava region has been the region with the most registered cases. BRATISLAVA - Slovaks living abroad within 30-kilometre zones behind the borders who commute to work in Slovakia will have to show to border patrols as of May 1 negative tests for COVID-19 that mustn't be older than 30 days, Slovakia's chief hygienist Jan Mikas said after a meeting of the central crisis management team on Friday. BRATISLAVA - Another infected client from the Social Service Facility in Pezinok (Bratislava region) has died, increasing the total number of deaths in the facility to five, TASR was told by the Bratislava Self-governing Region Office, which is the founder of the facility, on Friday. "A crisis manager is entering the social service facility in Pezinok in the next few hours. Her first task will be to find out what the real state in the facility is and then propose measures," said the office. BRATISLAVA - The Bratislava police have started criminal prosecution for a misdemeanour of spreading a dangerous contagious human disease in connection with the case of the new coronavirus spread in the Social Service Facility in Pezinok (Bratislava region), the Bratislava police report on a social network on Friday. Police officers are conducting searches in the non-residential premises of the facility, while observing strict security measures, and set up a temporary examination room near the facility. BRATISLAVA - The Slovak government's economic crisis team held its first session on Friday, with government representatives listening to economists' ideas about possible measures to stimulate the country's economy after it's been paralysed by the coronavirus outbreak, said Finance Minister Eduard Heger (OLaNO) on Friday. According to Heger, the team will also hold discussions with representatives of employers and employees at later sessions. BRATISLAVA - Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister Ivan Korcok (a SaS nominee) and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell on Friday discussed cooperation in the fight against the novel coronavirus and in tackling its social effects, the Slovak ministry's press office told TASR on the same day. "This initial talk had to be made per telephone due to the current situation," stated Korcok in reference to the coronavirus outbreak, which, incidentally, also delayed his appointment to as late as last week, as he had to spend two weeks in quarantine after returning from the ambassadorial post in the United States. VYSNE NEMECKE - 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. bub