MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Thursday, April 2, 2020 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Wednesday, April 1): BRATISLAVA - Prime Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) on Wednesday reported that 37 new cases of coronavirus were registered in Slovakia on Tuesday, thereby bringing the total tally up to 400. TEPLICKA NAD VAHOM - Kia Motors Slovakia is set to resume car production at its plant in Teplicka nad Vahom (Zilina region) as of Monday, April 6, the company has announced on its website. Production will be resumed under strict preventive hygiene measures and in line with the recommendations of the central Crisis Management Team and the Regional Public Health Office. "We'll work according to a standard three-shift schedule until Thursday, April 9. After Easter we'll switch to two shifts (morning and afternoon). The situation on the global market is changing every day and Kia Motors Slovakia is closely monitoring it. If any restrictions occur, either in terms of demand or material supplies or other unpredictable situations, we are ready to react," stated the company. BRATISLAVA - Prime Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) conceded on Wednesday that a so-called 'blackout', by which he imagines an extraordinary state lasting several weeks, may be introduced in Slovakia. People's mobility would effectively be lowered to a minimum, while "military discipline" would be observed and the army would take care of supplies. According to Matovic, such a temporary state would make it possible to jump start the economy as early as possible, as it's set to suffer long term given the current situation. "We're really facing this decision [whether a blackout will take place]. From the medical point of view, we've managed to get the virus on its knees via the introduced measures. The course of the spread of the disease in the country is basically following a flat curve ... However, if we keep the virus at bay from the medical viewpoint in order to protect lives, we strangle the economy, we grab it by the neck, as quarantine has been in place for a long time. The economy is on its knees just like the virus. This is the situation that we're in," stated Matovic. BRATISLAVA - Economy Minister and Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party leader Richard Sulik stated on Wednesday in reaction to Prime Minister Igor Matovic's (OLaNO) idea of a 'blackout' that he's strongly against any experiments that would liquidate the economy. Sulik explained that if no extraordinary events take place, he will be against any proposal to switch off the country. BRATISLAVA - The state will massively test residents of marginalised Roma communities for the possible presence of SARS-CoV-2 infection from Friday (April 3), Prime Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) told a briefing on Wednesday. zel