Re-Opening Shops Isn’t Worth the Virus Risk, Slovak Leader Says

(Bloomberg) --

Re-opening more shops from the coronavirus lockdown will have too little impact on the economy and isn’t worth the risk, Slovakia’s premier said, as he pledged to present a timetable to lift restrictions next week.

Prime Minister Igor Matovic said the $103 billion economy was running at about 70% capacity, and allowing businesses that sell non-essential products to resume would only add 2 percentage points to that. The time of re-opening will be based only on scientists’ recommendations, and “not a single economist will decide,” he told journalists in Bratislava Tuesday.

One Europe’s least-affected countries by the pandemic, Slovakia was among first to close shops, bars, and cultural and sport venues. The country of 5.4 million has registered 835 cases -- the fourth-lowest in the European Union after Bulgaria, Latvia and Malta -- and two deaths.

While other members of the bloc that have more cases and deaths, such as Austria and Denmark, are gradually easing restrictions, Slovakia has refused to even as the number of new infections declines. Many industrial companies have halted production because of supply-chain disruptions and lower demand, but entrepreneurs are asking for the government to ease restrictions.

That has created a rift in the month-old ruling coalition, with Economy Minister Richard Sulik, the chairman of the junior ruling, pro-business SaS party, saying he’ll imminently propose easing restrictions.

The export-oriented economy, which is dominated by the car industry, may shrink as much as a 10th this year and cause the budget deficit to swell to 10% of gross domestic product. The government has vowed to spend 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) a month on measures to shield workers from unemployment.

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