Shopping Gets Complicated. One Person per 15 Square Meters Will be Allowed

Every supermarket, food shop, and store must allow at least 15 square-meters per person so that customers can practice “social distancing”. This means that supermarkets must control how many people are in the space at any given time.

The Czech government has approved a restriction on the number of customers inside stores, which will come into effect from Wednesday. Only one person per 15 square meters will be allowed.

“Based on the current measure, people already have to keep a distance of two meters, so there will be no fatal changes. But it is true that it is different than as originally approved by the government resolution,” said Minister of Industry Karel Havlíček (ANO) to Radiožurnál.

The president of the Trade and Tourism Association, Tomáš Prouza, criticized the new restriction. “The change will cause a concentration of people in front of the stores,” he claims.

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“The government has been talking from the beginning of the pandemic about the need to prevent people from gathering and reducing their mobility. But what will a person do when sees a long line in front of the store? He will go to another one,” added Prouza.

The Association of Shopping Centers is also against the proposed restriction. “We do not see the point in limiting the number of customers to an area of ​​15 square meters. It will cause unnecessary stress for shoppers and a concentration of people outside shopping centers, where we are able to ensure a safe environment,” said the chairman of the association Jan Kubíček.

The Czech Republic reported 1,887 new cases for November 15, its lowest daily tally since October 4, Health Ministry data showed on Monday. Testing is typically lower on weekends.

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The country has reported 460,116 total cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic started. There are 126,602 active cases currently. Deaths have climbed to 6,208, up from 6,058 one day earlier.