The coronavirus pandemic isn’t just a threat to the health of people around the world. It also puts their livelihoods at risk. The number of homeless people in Prague is increasing. The statistics often include people who used to have normal work and housing, points out anthropologist Petr Vašát. Ivan Douda, psychologist and one of the founders of Prague’s “Drop-in Centre”, also confirmed the rise of people living on the streets. Mayor of Prague 5 Renata Zajíčková (ODS) and the mayor of Prague 1 Petr Hejma (STAN) have also agreed during a broadcast at CNN’s Prima NEWS that there’s the need for better communication and cooperation in this situation. “I am contacted daily by citizens who live in the vicinity of the Andêl and the adjacent parks. The situation is clearly unsatisfactory. There are actually more homeless people in this area than before,” confirmed Zajíčková. She added that there are also many drug addicts in the area, who, however, do not necessarily have to be homeless. “Of course, we do our best to take care of the city center where there is a high concentration of homeless people or drug addicts. We are trying to eliminate this phenomenon in a...
The Czech government is due to discuss approving a third Covid-19 vaccine dose for adults over 65, at-risk populations and essential workers, such as those in the healthcare and social work sectors. “The clinical group has some ideas about it, but it has not been finalized yet. We point out that probably those who have had transplants, chronic patients, or elderly people could be vaccinated, but it is not decided, so it will take some time,” said Babiš. He added that it is also necessary to formulate a policy towards antibodies. Although Czechs can be tested for antibodies, they are not yet recognized as evidence of immunity, unlike vaccination or prior illness. So far, Austria is the only country in Europe that recognizes antibodies. “Let’s hope that soon experts will agree and reach a final decision,” said Babiš. Hungary became the first EU country to offer a third shot of Covid vaccines to its population, with the campaign started on August 1. The booster shot should come at least four months after the second dose, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said, unless doctors advise otherwise. A study conducted by Czech organisation Podane Ruce showed that up to 60 percent of seniors had...
Bulgaria has been crowned as the best European country for women to work. That is according to a study conducted by Reboot Online, which evaluated a variety of factors that contribute to women’s success in the workforce. It created a points-based index to determine which countries on the continent offered the best prospects for female professionals, assessing economic opportunity, including the gender pay gap, women in leadership, and maternity leave. Bulgaria scored 236.6 points out of a possible 300 after offering the best maternity leave package in Europe. It also ranked second-best for women in leadership, losing out only to Norway which boasts one of the most egalitarian societies in the world. Croatia pulled in second place with a combined total of 229.9 points, with the second-highest points for economic opportunity and maternity leave. The country also registered the second-highest points for economic opportunity, losing out to Italy. Rounding up the top five was Estonia, Norway and Slovakia, and the Netherlands, while Slovenia, Romania and Italy ranked sixth, seventh and eighth in Europe. The Czech Republic finished in the 21st spot, scoring 110 points in total. In terms of equal economic opportunities, it ended among the last five countries. On...
The Czech telecoms regulator CTU may cap wholesale mobile data prices charged by three main operators to virtual providers, its chief told business daily Hospodarske Noviny. The main providers concerned are O2 Czech Republic, T-Mobile and Vodafone. “I believe we will propose a ceiling for wholesale prices at which the three current large operators sell to virtual operators,” the daily quoted CTU Chairwoman Hana Tovarkova as saying. “The regulation may last for three to four years depending on the results of an analysis that we will complete in the second half of September.” Where are people paying more for their data? Researchers from Top Dollar decided to investigate. Using data collected from the World Bank and other credible sources, they created a series of infographics on global mobile data charges. Israel has the cheapest data in the world, according to Top Dollar researchers. Based on a standard 10GB monthly plan, mobile users in Israel pay just $0.01 per 1Mbps download speed. The low prices are mainly due to a highly competitive mobile data market, which includes a large customer base for providers. Over 95 percent of Israelis have instant access to the internet. China ranks second, with 10GB data per...
A study by 65 researchers from around the world reveals how considerate people from different countries are when making low consequence decisions. A recent study on Social Mindfulness (SoMi) revealed that Austria is the most considerate EU country. The concept of Social Mindfulness relates to acts of empathy, kindness and cooperation that are of low or no cost to the actor and the researchers believe that they reveal some truth about the way a society functions in general. The study was led by Niels Van Doesum, from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, but also included various collaborations and contributions, like Ursula Athenstaedt from the University of Graz, Marcello Gallucci from the University of Milano-Bicocca, and others. The research involved 65 scientists analysing results from more than 8,300 people. The people came from 31 nations and, while western developed countries are strongly represented, the study wanted to cast a wider net. This is why they looked into the social habits of places like Turkey, Indonesia, South Korea and Romania. Would you pick the wine glass? The study describes the concept of Social Mindfulness in a relatively straightforward way. Imagine two colleagues, Alex and Mary. They are going to their...
Half the Czech Republic’s adult population contracted the coronavirus from the beginning of the epidemic until March this year. Based on the first phase of a long-term study, these findings were made by scientists from the research center of Masaryk University in Brno. According to official statistics, the infection was confirmed in only 1.7 million people in the country. The researchers focused on the presence of antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. “The results of the first phase of the study showed a rapid increase in seropositivity, demonstrating large exposure of the Czech population to SARS-CoV-2 during the dramatic second wave of the pandemic: while in October and November 2020, only 28 percent of volunteers had antibodies, in December 2020 and January 2021, it was 43 percent, and in February and March 2021, already 51 percent,” according to Vojtěch Thon from Masaryk University. “This means that in March 2021, a substantial part of the Czech population was no longer immunologically isolated from the SARS-CoV-2 infection,” he added from the position of expert guarantor of the study. According to Ladislav Dušek, head of the Institute of Health Information and Statistics (IHIS), the data indicates that “the percentage of the population exposed to...
The Czech Republic once again ranks high in the rating of the 47 best manufacturing destinations. Thanks to a good score in all criteria such as operating costs, labour, political and economic risk and the ability to bounce back after the coronavirus crisis, the country came fifth globally – closely following the top manufacturing destinations of China, India, the USA and Canada – and first in Europe. The Czech Republic swapped positions with Canada this year largely due to an increase in labour cost across the CEE Region. That became the biggest obstacle to plans for reshoring to CEE countries, which was to be one of the potential responses to the disruption of supply chains during the pandemic. Despite that, Lithuania (No.7) and Poland (No.10) still rank among the top ten countries. Out of Western European countries, Spain ranks the highest, making a big leap from last year’s No.29 to this year’s No.12 thanks to improving its economic and political stability and reducing labour costs. In terms of costs (of labour, energy and property), the Czech Republic is not among the cheaper countries, ranking within the second quarter of the index. Out of European destinations, the countries that outperform Czechia...
The tender for a new bloc at CEZ’s Dukovany nuclear power plant could be launched by the end of this year, Industry Minister Karel Havlicek said on Sunday. State-controlled CEZ should be able to launch the tender – the Czech Republic’s largest single investment estimated to be worth at least 6 billion euros – once bidders have responded to a security questionnaire. “In my view, it is a matter of maximum one month from the moment the security questionnaires arrive,” Havlicek said in a Czech Television talkshow. Bidders are supposed to submit their responses to the questionnaire, prepared by the interior and industry ministries, by the end of November. “I can imagine (the tender being launched in December), maybe already in November, if the responses come sooner, because all signalled they have no problem with the questionnaire,” he said. Westinghouse of the United States, France’s EDF and South Korea’s KHNP are seen as potential bidders to expand the nuclear plant after companies from China and Russia were excluded. Czech authorities excluded China from the tender in January and dropped Russia in April amid a security row with Moscow over a deadly blast at an arms depot.
Ivo and Jakub Slavka love being called “Dad” and “Daddy” by their two young foster children, but their bigger dream is of being recognised as fathers by the Czech Republic. The Slavkas – Jakub took Ivo’s surname when they became civil partners in 2012 – had to go court to become joint foster parents. And they cannot adopt their children or get married as neither right is given to gay couples in the Czech Republic. “We would like to be married, not to be registered,” said Ivo, a 54-year-old civil servant originally from Slovakia, comparing the civil partnership process to registering a car. “We would like to adopt our children … They know about their families, but they call us fathers,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a video call from the capital, Prague. With elections due in October, the chances of the Czech Republic becoming the first formerly communist European country to grant marriage equality are slim, even though a bill passed a first reading in parliament in April. The Czech Republic is one of Europe’s most secular societies and religious groups have a relatively weak voice, unlike in neighbouring Poland and Slovakia. But the issue has split...
The willingness of Czechs to get vaccinated against Covid-19 is approaching its limit, at least according to the latest surveys. The declining interest is also visible in the statistics of the Ministry of Health, which show that administrations of first doses have been declining rapidly in recent weeks. There is still less interest among younger people, but while the government is aiming a campaign at them, there are still hundreds of thousands of people unvaccinated among high-risk groups. According to data from the Ministry of Health, over 64 percent of adults have already received the first dose of vaccination, and another almost 4 percent are waiting for their turn. In the last wave from the end of July, similar numbers occur in the long-term “Life during a Pandemic” survey, according to which the same percentage of the adult population already has at least one dose, leaving only 6 percent of people willing to get vaccinated. Beyond the willing and the unwilling, 10 percent remain undecided. The last survey from CVVM comes up with similar numbers. Almost a quarter of people do not want to be vaccinated, while 7 percent remain hesitant. However, the CVVM interviewed people over the age of...
Children who will not get tested for Covid-19 or prove to be safe from the infection in another way at the beginning of the school year will not be temporarily allowed to attend physical education indoors and sing at school, according to the health ministry manual sent to schools on Tuesday. In addition, such children will have to wear face masks all the time at school and should keep a distance from others, also when eating and drinking. These special rules will be applied until the end of the extraordinary testing at schools, that is until September 10, Heath Minister Adam Vojtech and Robert Plaga told a press conference. “Mandatory testing is supposed to show us a picture of the epidemiological situation in the country as a whole. (…) But the mandatory testing applies only temporarily,” said Vojtech. Some parts of the manual are only recommendations while other instructions are binding for schools. The recommendations relate mainly to the rules for disinfection, cleaning, organization of teaching, meals, etc, while regulations regarding the wearing of respiratory protection, isolation of the infected, and testing at the beginning of the school year are mandatory. Testing will take place in early September. The manual...
The state agency CzechTourism has launched a campaign that aims to attract German tourists on spa trips and city stays. It will continue for three autumn months and the agency has set aside a total of six million CZK. The campaign is aimed primarily at the residents of the border federal states of Saxony, Bavaria, as well as Berlin and Thuringia. According to Markéta Chaloupková, director of the CzechTourism’s foreign representation in Germany, the tourists interested in a spa holiday will be addressed through some of the most widely read Saxony newspapers or on public radio. According to her, the digital ads on outdoor showcases or online advertisements will be aimed at urban tourists. In 2019 alone, more than 2 million tourists came from Germany. To support the arrival of German tourists, CzechTourism also organizes individual and group thematic trips that might center around caravanning, cycling, or exploring the cultural life in Czech cities. “Despite the fact that the Germans spent their summer holidays mainly by the sea, the Czech Republic becomes a point of interest for them during autumn holidays,” CzechTourism stated in its press release. Online campaigns to support tourism in the Czech Republic are also simultaneously running...
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