Sian Bradley, Author at Prague Morning

On Thursday, the Czech government agreed to bring up to 300 military personnel from the European Union and NATO member states to help with the coronavirus pandemic.

Deputy Prime Minister Jan Hamáček (CSSD) bought the decision forward, which has been approved by the Parliament.

The Czech government has already agreed to call in 28 military doctors from the United States to help the country’s health service with Covid-related hospitalizations. According to the Minister of Health Roman Prymula, American doctors should arrive next week.

Read: Coronavirus in the Czech Republic: The Latest

The information was announced in a press release. Defense Minister Lubomír Metnar (ANO) said: “At the same time, negotiations are underway on the possible deployment of medics from other NATO and EU member states. In order to be able to implement everything quickly, the government approved today (Thursday) the stay of up to 300 military medics in the Czech Republic for up to 90 days.”

Foreign soldiers who are deployed in the Czech Republic will work without weapons and always in cooperation with Czech medical personnel.

Read: October 28 Celebrations Cancelled due to COVID-19

Italy is renowned for its delicious food of simple flavours and fresh ingredients. But the country has way more to offer than the stereotypical pizza. And now, thanks to a new restaurant, you can sample authentic food from Puglia, a region in the South of Italy, without leaving Prague 8.

Prague Morning went along to Pan Panzerotto to talk to the owner, Mauro Lovecchio and taste the food that defined his childhood.

Pan Panzerotto offers a range of light lunchtime bites, from soup to Focaccia, and baked pasta. You can finish off your meal with almond coffee and sweet ricotta desserts, but the star of the show is its namesake, panzerotti.

Whether you choose the traditional with tomato and mozzarella or be adventurous and try the gorgonzola, mascarpone and walnut, you will taste the rich history in every mouthful.

These deep-fried dough pockets are born from the Apulian peasant tradition and are now most often eaten as indulgent street food.

The recipe was thought to have come from Arabic culture due to trades and military invasions from North Africa to the Mediterranean, as many classic dishes from the Puglia region came from the Ottoman Empire. In manuscripts from the 13th century, there is a reference to a fried dish with cheese that is similar to Panzerotti.

Although restaurants are operating with restrictions, you can still experience Pan Panzerotto specialties comfortably at home through the website or Wolt.

Mauro has fond memories of the dish being served at family parties: “We would gather on a sunny, summery Sunday at our country house where our grandmother would make enough panzerotti to feed us all. You only made them for sharing between lots of people because when you do it at home you mess up the kitchen quite badly!”

Bringing the iconic dish to Karlin hasn’t been easy. They use Mauro’s mother’s recipe, but since their kitchen equipment is different in the restaurant than it was in the family home in Bari, they had to finetune the recipe. “It took weeks to get right,” Mauro explains. “For 14 days I was eating panzerotti for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

And what about opening a restaurant in the midst of a pandemic? The timing just felt right to Mauro and his mother, he says. “I needed a challenge, something to wake me up. We’ve been working on this idea for a few years, but we haven’t had the proper motivation until recently.

The pandemic triggered a process that was already ready to start.”

Why did Mauro choose Prague to set up the family restaurant? “The choice was ‘easy’, he says. “I first lived here in 2006 for work, before I moved to Wales and had a child. We had to decide where we wanted to raise him. Prague seemed perfect. It’s very balanced – vibrant, but not too chaotic.”

We chose Karlín specifically because I really like the area and its enticing atmosphere. It’s a receptive neighbourhood to new ideas, a place where you expect to find something different.”

In an effort to boost tourism following the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic, visitors will be given ways to explore outside of the hotspots while traders will work towards earning a sustainable business marker.

These measures were announced by Prague City Tourism during an online press conference on Monday. Led by Prague councillor Hana Třeštíková (Praha Sobě), PCT board chairman František Cipro and PCT board member Jana Adamcová, they announced that tourists will be given a visitors pass which offers benefits and discounts.

Prague experienced more than a 90% decline in tourism between April and June this year, which has cost the country billions of Crowns.

But the city continues to look forward. “In the beginning, it was necessary to face the overtourism that has plagued us for years. Now the streets are empty, but this state is not final and we hope that tourists will return and tourism will resume. And we want to be ready for that time, “said Hana Třeštíková.

She continued: “We want to express a change, a view of the form of tourism. We emphasize the sustainable development of the city, respect for the cultural heritage and life of the city’s inhabitants.”

With these aims in mind, PCT is developing projects to improve the future of tourism. They currently have 58 projects prepared Entrepreneurs and their organisations will also be able to work towards certification of sustainable tourism.

Adamcová also wants to raise money from European funds to create an application that would allow them to control the flow of tourists and send them information. “It would allow us to have dynamic tourism management that we don’t have now,” she explained.

New routes are also being developed to help tourists navigate the city outside of its tourist hotspots. “We do not want them to perceive Prague only as a Castle, Charles bridge, and astronomical clock,” said Třeštíková.

Up to forty per cent of the restaurant’s food prices are taken by delivery services, Luboš Kastner from the Association of Small and Medium-Sized Entrepreneurs and Tradesmen (ASMP ČR) has claimed.

As part of the Czech Republic’s State of Emergency, restaurants are currently banned from serving food on their premises.

With the use of food delivery apps expected to shoot up because of this, the ASMP has called on popular food delivery services to share their margins. They have also criticized the business practice of meal voucher companies.

“Delivery services charge from 25 to 40 per cent of the price of the meal and, in addition, have the customer pay a shipping fee. For example, Dámejídlo.cz takes 25 per cent of lunch, in the evening it’s over 30 per cent. The Wolt service even takes 35 to 40 per cent,” Kastner told Práva.

“At the same time, restaurants have to cook food, buy packaging and pack food,” he added.

When asked to comment on the situation, a media representative for Dámejídlo.cz replied: “Unfortunately, we cannot react to this at the moment.”

Restaurants can of course avoid the fees of selling via a delivery app by offering their own delivery, but this comes with its own issues. Kastner explained that gastronomes would need regulars and great marketing to get people to come directly to their website to order.

Kastner also complained that meal voucher companies take margins of five to seven per cent. Nicolas Eich, CEO of Edenred, which issues Ticket Restaurant meal vouchers, responded: “We have taken note of Mr. Kastner’s call and come into contact with him in order to clarify the expectations of him and the gastronomic sector, and on that basis to fine-tune the possible form of help for restaurants.

This could also include cost reductions for restaurants on our part,” he told Práva.

A comment left on Novinky.cz’s article argued: “Transport must include costs (car, fuel, driver’s salary) and some profit. So it’s up to the pubs to include it in the price of the meal or to arrange their own transport.”

Another claimed they would ‘no longer support’ Dámejídlo, saying they had deleted the app from their phone since learning of this news.

A secondary school has started teaching an apprenticeship in fast-food gastronomy, which ends with a guaranteed job at McDonald’s.

The three-year course is being offered by the Technical and Gastronomic Secondary School, based in the town of Blansko (South Moravian Region), which counts the fast-food giant as its multinational partner.

Starting next September, students will be given practical experience in McDonald’s, including Barista and service training, with a position at the chain promised at the end. They will also learn how to run a restaurant and manage a team of people.

On their Facebook page, the school explained that they were ‘inspired by a successful German model’. The U.S.-based fast-food company joined the European Alliance for Apprenticeships in August 2018 and aims to provide 43,000 apprenticeships by 2025 in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the UK. This is the first of its kind in the Czech Republic.

The school continued: “The result is the focus of the specialist fast-food gastronomy. And it’s definitely not just a burger assembly. On the contrary, a successful graduate will gain a job position on the floor as a shift manager.”

The news has drawn harsh criticism from chef Zdeněk Pohlreich. “In the Czech Republic for sure, anything will work here, but it’s really funny,” he said. “I’d like to see the man who made it up. Three years of turning burgers is commendable”.

“What has that got to do with a chef and a waiter?”

Graduates will receive an apprenticeship certificate in the field of cook-waiter, as well as learning foreign languages and marketing skills. Students can decide to take the qualification elsewhere, not just to McDonald’s.

Pavel Dvořáček, the director of the Blane vocational school, says that after the current 12 students graduate in three years they expect to have up to 36 pupils.

The police will no longer try to explain Covid restrictions to people. They will instead ‘not tolerate’ anybody who disobeys the rules, the country’s police president Jan Švejdar said.

Švejdar made the announcement on Twitter, stating that as harsher restrictions have been introduced to halt the spread of Coronavirus, stricter compliance measures need to put in place too.

“The situation is extremely serious and police officers can no longer tolerate such actions.”

According to him, there is still a group of citizens who categorically refuse to comply with measures such as mask-wearing. However, the police no longer have ‘room to negotiate’, according to Švejdar.

Ondřej Moravčík, a spokesman of the police, explained that the police officers have three variants of the procedure.

Firstly, the police can try to negotiate with the person. Secondly, fines can be issued on the spot for up to 10 thousand crowns. If the individual refuses to pay, they can report the matter to the administrative authority. If this happens, the fine can increase to 20,000 CZK.

Moravčík confirmed that the second variant of the procedure will be used more frequently now.

This news comes after a restaurant in Vodičková Street was found to be open beyond 8 pm. The company managing the restaurant now faces a fine of up to 3 million CZK.

Švejdar also thanked the ‘vast majority’ of citizens who ‘act responsibly’ and are compiling with the measures. Read the full Tweets below.

1/2 Nepříznivý vývoj šíření nákazy a s ním spojené zpřísnění mimořádných opatření přináší i potřebu důraznějšího přístupu při kontrole jejich dodržování. Přestože drtivá většina občanů nařízení dodržuje, existuje část osob, která je stále odmítá akceptovat.

— Jan Švejdar (@jan_svejdar) October 13, 2020

2/2 Situace je mimořádně vážná a takové jednání policisté již nemohou tolerovat. V každém takovém případě budou postupovat důsledně, prostor pro domlouvání už nemáme. Děkuji všem občanům, kteří se chovají odpovědně a pomáhají nám tak tuto těžkou dobu překlenout.

— Jan Švejdar (@jan_svejdar) October 13, 2020

Roman Prymula explained his decisions for imposing harsh restrictions to combat the pandemic. In his speech, which was broadcast on Czech Television and Czech Radio, he said that the next two weeks will be “unhappy and complicated”.

He continued: “No epidemic can ever be tamed or anywhere in the world without economic and social losses. It is not true that the choice is between economics and health. The economy only works when the epidemic is under control, hospitals are not full and people are not closing at home for fear of the virus.”

Read: Prague Plans to Buy Hotels to House Homeless, Emergency Workers

“I give you my word that we will constantly monitor the impacts of individual measures and evaluate their necessity and functionality. And if the situation allows, we will immediately release unnecessary measures,” he continued.

Read: Babiš Has “Clear Conscience” On Pandemic Management

The Czech Republic recorded 8,325 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the second-highest daily tally since the pandemic started.

As many as 2,400 medical students will be recruited to help in the hospitals whose personnel was weakened by the coronavirus.

Prague City Hall is calling on property owners to offer their unused hotels, hostels and apartment blocks as part of a project to provide housing for vulnerable peopled during the pandemic.

The City plans to announce the competition soon, which stipulates that they are looking to purchase accommodation facilities for 20 to 90 people, with a total maximum capacity of 500 guests.

They will be used to help homeless and other socially disadvantaged people to quarantine, as well as police officers, firefighters or paramedics who live outside of the city.

The released document argues that the municipality’s provision of accommodation in rented hotels during the first wave of Covid-19 was successful, and so this won’t be much different.

“I hope that the competition will be completed by the middle of next year,” said housing councilor Adam Zábranský (Pirates).

He added that this is a perfect time for such plans, as the drop in tourism caused by Coronavirus has greatly reduced housing prices. He says a commission has been set up to evaluate the tenders received.

The municipality has contacted 17 real estate agencies and six property owners. Within this, they have found five properties on offer for around 2.5 million crowns per incomplete unit and 3.4 million per unit with facilities.

Zábranský claims that the housing council has negotiated a loan from the Council of Europe Development Bank which will cover 60 per cent of the costs of the first selection round.

City Hall and the Council have worked together on reconstructing buildings before. In 2019, councillors approved an interest-free loan of 100 million crowns for the reconstruction of the Sandra hostel in Prague 11.

Czech mineral water company Mattoni is now offering mineral water in refundable cans. This is the first Mattoni product sold in an aluminium can in the company’s 150-year history.

The scheme is available through online Czech supermarket Košík.cz and follows a similar system to their PET water bottles.

Since January this year, Košík has been selling Mattoni mineral water in refundable PET bottles.

Customers can now buy half-litre cans of Mattoni’s lemon-flavoured sparkling water for 19.90 CZK, along with a deposit of three crowns. You will be refunded the deposit if you return the can to a Košík.cz registered pickup.

“Our goal is for significantly more cans to be recycled in the Czech Republic than are now,” Mattoni CEO Alessandro Pasquale stated in a press release. “Deposits are an ideal way to increase the recycling rate.”

Importantly, you cannot return crushed cans. they need to be intact and undamaged before they reach the courier in order for them to be identified and processed.

Photo: Mattoni

Some people have questioned whether the costs of this outweigh the benefits. They argue that having trucks driving around to pick up and deposit cans is damaging to the environment and recycling the cans is not enough to counteract that.

Fancy biting into an edible Coronavirus molecule? It may not be your usual craving, but Černá Madona restaurant has begun selling a dessert that resembles a magnified image of the virus. It’s a massive success.

Confectioner Olga Budnik came up with the novel ideal during quarantine in the spring of this year. “I found a photo with a magnification of coronavirus on the Internet and I thought in detail about what the dessert should consist of so that it resembles a virus. I was thinking about what to make spikes that stick out of the virus and how to get suitable colours,” she said.

The final result is striking. The dessert slightly smaller than a tennis ball and covered with a chocolate crust dusted with cocoa butter spray. Dried raspberries are stuck to circles of white chocolate, made to resemble the spines which stick out of the molecule. Inside of the spiky ball, you will find nothing but luxurious layers of pistachio cream, raspberry puree, and more raspberries.

This new offering is an ironic nod to the way Coronavirus has impacted Černá Madona’s business. Vojtěch Heřmánek, the company’s marketing manager, said: “Our turnover has dropped by tens of percent. The dessert in the form of coronavirus may become a symbol that everything is not lost yet.”

Housed in a Cubist building that was designed by architect Josef Gočár in 1911, this First Republic cafe is usually crawling with tourists. Now that Czech is on many red lists, Olga felt she had to be creative to attract business to Prague’s Old Town.

Her gamble seems to have worked so far – they say over 100 pieces of the dessert are sold every day and say interest continues to grow. Olga now has plans for a dessert that resembles a Covid-19 vaccine. “I would like to put a lot of lime and some alcohol in it,” the Ukrainian pastry chef revealed.

In response to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the country, health officials are considering whether to force pubs, bars, and restaurants to stop the sale of alcohol for on-site consumption.

The Czech government will decide today, Monday, October 12, on further measures to curb the coronavirus surge.

“We have to decide on further measures that will be effective from Wednesday,” Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said in a video message on YouTube.

He added that the possibility of closing restaurants is being considered.

“We are considering whether to close restaurants or ban the sales of alcohol. We will discuss it today,” Babiš remarked on Czech Television.

“There are several possibilities. In the evening, alcohol could be reduced, but this is not yet the final decision,” said the Minister of Industry and Trade and Transport Karel Havlíček (ANO).

The main goal of the new measures is to restrict gatherings and social contacts. However, PM Babiš admitted that the debate on whether the new measures will also affect kindergartens and primary schools has not yet been concluded.

On CNN Prima News, the Ministry of Health Roman Prymula also talked about wearing face masks. “Wearing a mask underneath the nose is completely ineffective and it does not prevent the spread of the virus.

We see the light at the end of this COVID-19 tunnel during the second quarter of next year,” he added.

According to the Ministry of Health, there are currently 60,458 infected in the country. The current number of cases has exceeded 116,400.

A group of shopping centres in Prague have decided to temporarily switch off their wifi in an attempt to stop students from gathering there.

While rules are in place for bars and restaurants, no restrictions have been made on shopping centres. According to some shopping centre managers, this has resulted in young people using these spaces to hang out with their friends.

They believe that the existence of free wifi makes it a more attractive place to spend their time. Petra Valentová, marketing manager of Westfield Chodov, explains that the network will be switched off in all centres of the Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield group, including Černý Most Center, and the Metropole Zličín.

He continued: “We monitor the movement of teenagers and high school students, and in the event of non-compliance with some of the safety rules, we warn customers and seek redress on the spot.”

Prague is under a state of emergency, which means that universities and secondary schools in high-risk areas are now providing distance learning.

Primary schools are still asking students to come in, but with new, tighter restrictions being announced by Czech Health Minister Roman Prymula on Friday, this could change.

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