Slovakia declares state of emergency over coronavirus, orders shop closures

Slovakia declared a state of emergency on Sunday to contain the coronavirus outbreak, ordering the closure of all shops except food stores, pharmacies, banks, petrol stations and post offices from 6 a.m. on Monday, Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said. Pellegrini said the government's crisis committee would meet on Monday to discuss further measures, including steps to ease the impact of the crisis on the economy.

He added it was "highly probable" Volkswagen would halt production at its auto production plant near Bratislava on Monday or in the next few days. Slovakia has 61 confirmed coronavirus cases, up 17 from a day earlier. The country has reported no deaths.

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