Slovakia is closely monitoring the situation regarding the new coronavirus 2019-nCoV and is ready to handle it if new coronavirus is confirmed in our territory. Key departments such as the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have the situation under control; all preventive measures are currently being implemented to ensure maximum protection of people. Peter Pellegrini, the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, who is also responsible for the management of the health department, confirmed this on Monday after the meeting of the crisis staff. Slovakia does not underestimate the new coronavirus, although it has not been confirmed in our territory to date. However, France is already reporting confirmed cases, and we must therefore be prepared for the situation that the diseases will also occur in our country. The Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic and the Slovak Public Health Office have so far recorded four suspected diseases caused by the new coronavirus, in one case the result was negative, the remaining three are very likely to be the same scenario. I assure the public that we are following the situation closely, we are in control of it and, although it is a difficult situation from a global perspective, we have all the preconditions to manage it. declared Prime Minister P. Pellegrini. The Prime Minister also announced that in the coming days, the preparedness of the individual sector components in the event of resolution will be reviewed. The State will perform exercises at the Airport of M. R. Štefánik in Bratislava and border crossing points in Čierná nad Tisou and Vyšný Germany. The eight regional hospitals will also undergo exercises with the involvement of rescue services, focusing on special isolation and hospitalization. In case the situation with new coronavirus in Europe worsens, the Prime Minister did not exclude the introduction of monitoring or random inspections at Bratislava airport. The Prime Minister, together with the main sanitary department of the Slovak Republic, called on citizens to consider the way to areas where coronavirus has been confirmed. In view of the current opportunities for people to travel between countries, we cannot rule out a new coronavirus in our territory. For this reason, too, we immediately developed and sent expert guidance to all regional public health authorities in the Slovak Republic and key departments in order to inform healthcare establishments about proper patient management in case of suspected disease. We have also developed

the procedure for laboratory diagnosis of the disease and the instructions for the collection of biological material. We assure the public that the epidemiological situation is closely monitored and we keep the key departments, regional public health authorities in the Slovak Republic informed about the current situation and the professional and general public. Information is published on the website of the Slovak Public Health Office and on social networks, said the chief sanitary officer of the Slovak Republic, Jan Mikas.Laboratory diagnostics for ÚZ SRThe new coronavirus 2019-nCOV causes acute respiratory disease – viral pneumonia. The disease is manifested mainly by fever, cough, shortness of breath, pneumonia, and in case of complications it can end with death. The incubation time is 14 days.If the general physician expresses suspicion of a disease caused by the new coronavirus 2019-nCoV (responsiblely assesses clinical and epidemiological criteria with emphasis on travel history), the patient will be addressed at the appropriate infectological workplace to determine the next treatment procedure. Laboratory diagnostics National Reference Centre for Influenza at the Slovak Public Health Office in Bratislava, in cooperation with the Virological Institute at the Charité University of Medicine in Berlin, explained Chief Hygiene Officer J. Mikas.The Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic allocated funds to the ÚVZ SR to purchase additional laboratory equipment to improve the laboratory diagnostics of viral and microbial diseases.Call center for publicThe Office of Public Health of the Slovak Republic is setting up a continuous centre on public issues related to the new Coronavirus Call Centre. People can contact experts via email address novykoronavirus@uzvr.sk as well as telephone number 0917 222 682. The public will be provided with information on the current situation in the presence of a new coronavirus or recommendations for persons who are present or have returned from areas where the new coronavirus has been confirmed.Currently, the flu season is taking place in Slovakia and people are ill with flu. I call on citizens not to panic if they experience symptoms such as cough, fever or fever or shortness of breath. Although these are symptoms of a disease that can also be caused by a new coronavirus, they are mainly symptoms of classical respiratory diseases, such as flu. If you arehave not been in countries where the new coronavirus is present or have not been in contact with persons visited by those countries, this is most likely a classic flu or a cold. Of course, you should contact your doctor. I also recommend influenza vaccination to the population at risk, Closed Prime Minister.Recommendations for persons present or returned from areas affected by coronavirus:

In connection with the new coronavirus 2019-nCoV, the Office of Public Health of the Slovak Republic will continuously update the published information and provide it to the professional and general public.