Slovakia takes next steps to ease coronavirus measures

FILE PHOTO: Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic speaks at a news conference in Bratislava, Slovakia

PRAGUE (Reuters) - Slovakia will undo more coronavirus restrictions from Wednesday, including opening indoor sports centres and pools, as the country with one of the world's lowest death rates from the outbreak moves ahead with reopening.

The government agreed on Monday to relax rules in restaurants by cutting the distance between customers, open up sports events to limited crowds and make it easier to visit people in hospital, Prime Minister Igor Matovic said at a televised news conference.

From June 10, up to 500 people will be allowed at public events and the limit will rise to 1,000 from July.

Slovakia imposed a tough lockdown early in the crisis, before it had reported any coronavirus cases, and has moved cautiously in reopening.

As of Sunday it had reported 1,522 cases although 1,368 have recovered. The death toll stood at 28 and has not risen since the middle of May.

(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Giles Elgood)