If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. Czech Minister for European Affairs Mikulas Bek will visit Slovakia on Monday and meet Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok and Martin Klus, state secretary at the Slovak Foreign Ministry. Bek will talk with Korcok and Klus about the cooperation of Czechia and Slovakia in the European Union. The state budget deficit for 2022 should be below 280 billion crowns, Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura said in a debate on Czech Television on Sunday. The target is 100 billion crowns less than that envisioned by the former government of Andrej Babiš. The Czech Republic, namely its strategic state institutions, media and critical information infrastructure, face an increased risk of cyber espionage and attacks related to the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border, the National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NUKIB) warned today. The Czech government is considering providing further aid to Ukraine after sending artillery ammunition. On Wednesday, the government decided to ship Ukraine 4,000 shells. Ukraine however has not yet requested the assistance of Czech personnel on its soil. The share of renewable energy in the European...
Who wouldn’t like to live in the Czech capital? Well not everyone can. Current data from the statistical portal Numbeo.com shows that Praguers have the highest cost of living of all 50 major cities in Central and Eastern Europe. They are mainly troubled by high housing costs and the highest food prices. By contrast, they can enjoy the largest purchasing power in the entire region. The third most expensive city in the region is Brno and the fourth Olomouc. Only the Slovak capital Bratislava came in second. The main problem of people looking for housing in Prague is the rising rents. According to the Numbeo portal, which has been monitoring and comparing statistical data in 237 European cities for a long time, renting a three-room apartment in the centre of Prague averages CZK 31,655 per month, while outside the centre tenants pay an average of CZK 23,091. This is 13.4 % more than in Bratislava city centre and 11.4 % more outside. The inhabitants of Prague will also pay for energy in the apartment which are 10% more than in the Slovak capital. However, it can rely on the highest average salary in the region, which according to Numbeo after-tax reaches almost 36,350 crowns. The...
The Czech government approved a change in the validity of the Covid-19 vaccination certificate and several other updates to the current measures. The validity of a Covid-19 vaccination certificate will be extended indefinitely when a person receives a booster dose. This change will take effect on February 15th. Certificates of those who have had two doses will be valid for 270 days. From January 31st, students at higher vocational schools (VOS) will need to undergo regular testing. “The pandemic is developing according to the predictions which the government uses to make its decisions,” said Fiala on Wednesday. “We are continuing to monitor and evaluate the situation and the measures in force. Based on this, we have decided that no one who has had a positive PCR test in the last 30 days needs to be quarantined.” This measure enters into force on January 31st. Latest news The Czech Republic registered 34,740 new Covid cases on Thursday and a record number of reinfections at 16,248. The incidence number has jumped to 2,030 per 100,000 people. 1,967 people are currently hospitalized with Covid. People in the Czech Republic will be able to register for the Novavax vaccine as of February 1. The...
If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. According to the annual report from Transparency International, the Czech Republic’s corruption perception index (CPI) score is unchanged from last year, meaning the country ranks as the 49th least corrupt, equal with Malta and Mauritius. The validity of a Covid-19 vaccination certificate will be extended indefinitely when a person receives a booster dose. This change will take effect on February 15th. Certificates of those who have had two doses will be valid for 270 days. People in the Czech Republic will be able to register for the Novavax vaccine as of February 1. The inoculation with the newest vaccine would begin on March 1st and it would be available for everyone over the age of 18. The Czech government has approved the transfer of more than 4,000 artillery shells to Ukraine. This was reported by the press service of the Czech Defense Ministry on Twitter page. It is noted that the Czech Republic will transfer 4,006 artillery shells of 152 mm caliber to Ukraine. The share of renewable energy in the European Union’s total electricity consumption will...
Doctors treating Covid patients at a Prague hospital have shed their once mandatory protective suits, claiming that bacteria clinging to their sleeves actually increased mortality. Medical staff at the Covid ward of Prague’s General University Hospital now only wear face masks, gloves, and plastic aprons as protective gear, despite the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant. “We dropped the suits a year ago because they helped the spread of bacteria, viruses and mould among patients, which worsened the overall mortality data,” Martin Balik, chief doctor at the intensive care unit. Previously, doctors and nurses on the ward wore protective suits complete with plastic caps and trousers throughout their shifts. They had to change completely when going to the bathroom or having lunch. One of the main treatment centres in the Czech Republic for Covid patients, the hospital receives critical patients from smaller hospitals that do not have equipment needed to keep them alive. “During the epidemic, we started to bring in patients with very resistant bacteria which we had not encountered before,” said the head of the intensive care unit, Jan Blaha. “At one point, patient mortality increased by 6-8 percent. When our staff got vaccinated or recovered from...
It often happens that a person gets carried away and does not make the best decisions when it comes to mortgage selection. But don’t worry, taking into account the following factors will help you making that decision. by Světlana Lanza, Finance specialist at M&M finance. 1. No Guarantee on Loan Approval For this reason, I recommend dealing with financing in advance. The demand for real estate is huge, and with it, the fear that your property will run away and the pressure from brokers to sign a reservation contract is growing. The signing of this contract is also accompanied by the obligation to pay a reservation fee (usually in the range of CZK 50,000). If you do not meet the deadlines, you will most likely lose this fee. 2. Total Expenditure If you received an indicative calculation at the bank or you used a mortgage calculator on the internet, where you found out the approximate price of the loan repayment, you need to realise that there are additional costs associated with the mortgage. This is mainly compulsory real estate insurance, the amount of which varies according to the value of the property, maintenance, electricity and gas fees, in some cases,...
Many people in the Czech Republic are double vaccinated, with a large percentage of the population already additionally vaccinated with their booster. This booster has been dominant, and there has been significant encouragement for those to receive it – especially those in risky and dangerous categories. The government believes that a new vaccine from Novavax could provide a better force of protection, however, sociological data shows that this might not be the case and there is not much room for improvement. The Ministry of Health estimates that there are almost half a million citizens over the age of 60 who still have not been vaccinated. The government has been trying to reduce this number for quite some time, but the figures have not moved significantly. Vlastimil Válka, Minister of Health, predicts that this situation will change with the introduction of the new vaccine from Novavax. He believes that this will persuade thousands more people to become vaccinated. The State Institute for Drug Control (SÚKL), informs that the new vaccine from Novavax is a so-called protein vaccine, which is different from all of the previous vaccines offered before. This new vaccine will be offered to adults only and will serve as...
If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. The Walt Disney Company has announced a massive expansion of its streaming service in 42 countries, including the Czech Republic. The Disney+ streaming platform launched in 2019 has attracted 118 million monthly subscribers globally. The Book World Prague fair will be held this spring, presenting Italy as its honorary guest and show literature as a voice of freedom, along with popular Czech and world authors. It will take place in Prague’s exhibition area in Holesovice from June 9 to June 12. No Czech government politicians will attend the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Lenka Do told CTK yesterday. The Czech budget airline Smartwings announced on Wednesday that it has become the first airline in the world to land a Boeing 737MAX on the continent of Antarctica. The share of renewable energy in the European Union’s total electricity consumption will increase to 37.5 percent in 2020 from 34 percent in 2019, the statistical office Eurostat said in a report. Austria reported the highest share of renewable energy in EU, while the Czech Republic...
The number of Czech citizens dying of COVID-19 has been steadily declining despite a recent record surge in coronavirus infections caused by the highly transmittable omicron variant. The figures released by the Health Ministry on Wednesday show that 121 people died in the last seven days, down from 206 the previous period and 289 another seven days back. New infections in the Czech Republic had been declining since a record high in late November but started growing again in January driven by the omicron variant that has become dominant. The daily increases hit a record high of almost 40,000 cases on Tuesday, about 11,000 more than a week ago and the third time a record was set in the last eight days. The 7-day infection rate jumped to 1,689 new cases per 100,000 residents on Tuesday compared to 1,585 a day earlier. The number of COVID-19 patients needing hospitalization in the European Union nation had been declining since Dec 6 but has started to grow slightly this week. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control says 63.1% of the Czech Republic’s 10.5 million people are fully vaccinated, below the EU average of 70% The Czech Republic has registered 37,092...
If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. According to the Czech Statistical Office, the average net income per person in Czech households in 2020 was CZK 220,100, an increase of CZK 10,352 from 2019. The monthly average net income per person was CZK 18,342. Some 800 supporters of the DOG Croaked anti-lockdown movement demonstrated against the adoption of a government amendment to the pandemic law in Prague, before MPs gathered to debate the draft legislation. The Czech Republic is not for now ordering the evacuation of staff from its embassy in Ukraine due to the threat of a Russian invasion, said the country’s foreign minister, Jan Lipavský. The former head of the Czech Republic’s Energy Regulation Office, Alena Vitásková, is to stand for president. The 65-year-old announced her decision in a statement issued on Tuesday. Flats continue to get more expensive. In the last quarter, prices in Ústí nad Labem increased by 61 percent year-on-year, to an average of CZK 37,300 per square meter. In Prague, the average price per square meter has risen by 16%, reaching CZK 120,800.
One of the new government’s stated priorities is digitalization. Prime Minister Petr Fiala has announced the intention to bring “ID cards and driving license to mobile phones”. “We will abolish the obligation to carry ID cards and other documents and replace them with electronic documents,” announced Fiala (ODS), as one of his priorities for this government. While the actual technology has been around for years, it’s only recently that several countries are beginning to take steps to implement these for everyday use. That, along with the fact that major tech companies like Apple are providing the ability to store your ID on your phone, means that the use of digital driver’s licenses is on the rise. The service will be made available “as soon as possible, at the latest in 2023” using the eDokladovska mobile app developed by the State Printing Works of Securities (STC) that enables users to upload and store “digital twins” of their physical documents on their Android or Apple device. “The application will be available for virtually all current phones,” STC says. “Data exchange will first take place by reading the QR code and then by Bluetooth transmission. “Document verification will also work in offline mode [and] users...
If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. One of the new government’s stated priorities is digitalization. Prime Minister Petr Fiala has announced the intention to bring “ID cards and driving licence to mobile phones”. The Czech Foreign Ministry is not preparing the withdrawal of employees or at least their family members from the embassy in Ukraine for the time being. A working group dealing with the developments in Ukraine meets at the ministry daily to assess the situation. Confidence in the Czech economy increased in January for the first time in six months, according to new data from the Czech Statistics Office released on Monday. President Miloš Zeman on Monday signed an amendment that will freeze the salaries of all constitutional officials at last year’s level for this year. He also signed an amendment on state social support to increase housing allowances due to the sharp rise in energy prices. The number of working seniors has been increasing in the long term, although the pandemic has slightly reduced their activities. Indeed, between 2010 and 2020, the number of employed people aged 60...
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