Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
A subset $W$ of a closed manifold $M$ is $K$-contractible, where $K$ is a torus or Klein bottle if the inclusion $W\,\to \,M$ factors homotopically through a map to $K$. The image of ${{\pi }_{1}}\left( W \right)$ (for any base point) is a subgroup of ${{\pi }_{1}}\left( M \right)$ that is isomorphic to a subgroup of a quotient group of ${{\pi }_{1}}\left( K \right)$. Subsets of $M$ with this latter property are called ${{\mathcal{G}}_{K}}$-contractible. We obtain a list of the closed 3-manifolds that can be covered by two open ${{\mathcal{G}}_{K}}$-contractible subsets. This is applied to obtain a list of the possible closed prime 3-manifolds that can be covered by two open $K$-contractible subsets.