The gastronomy industry has been struggling to survive for the past year enduring numerous government-mandated closures. As a result, only 45 percent of the previously open gastronomy businesses still remain open and operating through a window. According to recent data published by the Confederation of Trade and Tourism, restaurants have lost an estimated 72 billion crowns, down 37 percent from their pre-covid earnings. Before the pandemic ravaged the gastronomy industry in the Czech Republic would earn about 195 billion crowns each year. Restaurants in the Zlín, Karlovy Vary, and Pilsen regions have been among the worst afflicted by closures earning only half of the reported sales before the pandemic. While the Prague City Tourism board has actively promoted local tourism over the past year, the capital still remains at 66 percent of its earnings recorded before March 2020. Insight into the industry’s revenue loss comes from Dotykačka, the point-of-sale system used in restaurants and retailers across the Czech Republic. “It can certainly be said that there is a great dependence on tourism. Prague, even though most companies have remained open there, is moving in the middle of the field. On the contrary, places that were open during the summer, such...
Czech police barred 10,500 vehicles from leaving their home districts last week, the first in the three-week period of tightened Covid restrictions including the ban on people’s free movement between districts. Since last Monday, the police have registered over 13,000 cases of people not having adequately covered their nose and mouth, and over 5,000 other misdemeanors violating the government-introduced crisis measures. The police settled the cases mainly by issuing warnings and instructing the persons at fault. The new lockdown measures include strict limits on personal mobility, the closure of all kindergartens and other schools that are currently operating, and a restriction of sales to essential goods. Residents are limited to walking and jogging during the day in the municipality where they live. People who need to travel outside of their district to visit a healthcare facility or public authority must present an official form or written declaration stating the time and destination of their appointment. People traveling for work purposes will need a document from their employer stating the employee’s place of work and place of residence. Latest statistics The health ministry recorded 10,466 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, down from 12,321 cases a week earlier. The official death toll...
Starting with this month, Kaufland Czech Republic will gradually introduce in its stores a new type of shopping receipts, more resistant and more environmentally friendly. Thus, the company reaffirms its commitment to sustainability. The new receipt is made of an innovative, blue thermal paper, without chemical dyes. Thus, it is resistant to sunlight, water and grease and does not lose its legibility or other physical properties over time. In addition, the paper from which it is made is FSC certified, coming from sustainable forestry. The receipt is recyclable and when customers no longer need it, they can safely collect it along with other paper waste. Together with the transition to the new shopping receipt, the packaging of paper rolls for cash registers was also optimized – the company gave up the use of plastic for grouping rolls. The new receipts have already been tested at two stores in Olomouc and Prostějov, and there have been positive feedback from customers. From March, Kaufland will gradually introduce them to other stores across the country. Within July this year, there should be eco-receipts at all cash desks of 135 Kaufland stores in the Czech Republic. This change contributes to the objectives of the...
CBD-based company CBD Star tripled their business’ profit and success during the pandemic, due to the rise of demand for their products. CBD Star is operated by Brno entrepreneurs David Binko and Dragan Gašić, and their company grew by 300% in the last quarter of 2020. Surprisingly, the pandemic helped the company. “Christmas and the second wave of lockdown were crucial to our business. CBD helps with soothing the body, relaxing, better sleep, and at this point in time there was a great demand for our products,” explains Dragan. The idea to produce CBD products was conceptualized by the duo a long time ago, with the help of friends’ suggestions. Both of the entrepreneurs already knew the benefits of cannabidiol and had the idea of going into production for the domestic Czech market. In terms of operation, Dragan handles marketing, while David handles business and production. “We place emphasis not only on the organic composition of our products but above all on the high content of the active substance CBD, which, unlike the more well-known THC, is not psychotropic and therefore does not cause mind numbness,” says David. CBD Star products contain 10 percent cannabidiol in 10-milliliter packs, or 1,000...
On March 8th, 2004, the Czech Republic recognized International Women’s Day (Mezinárodní den žen in Czech—commonly referred to as MDŽ for short) as a state-recognized holiday for the first time since before the Communist regime fell in 1989. Its recognition fell squarely in line with the norms of the United Nations and the European Union, the latter of which the Czech Republic would go on to join later that year. The day is approached by these supranational organizations, along with the many countries in which it is actively celebrated, as a time to bring attention to women’s achievements and promote women’s rights domestically and around the world. Its recognition passed the parliament as part of a bundle of commemorative holidays, so-called “meaningful days” (významné dni), which included a day honoring “victims of the Holocaust” and “victims of the Communist regime”. However, it was MDŽ that captured the attention of the news media. Throughout the debates in parliament over whether or not to reinstate it, and in the days leading up to its first official postsocialist celebration, national newspapers and tabloids ran a multitude of articles, editorials, opinion polls, and interviews on the topic. For example, on March 8th 2004, Mladá...
The company is investing nearly CZK 4.5 billion in a new plant in the Plzeň region. The multinational Ball Corporation, the largest manufacturer of fully recyclable beverage containers in the Czech Republic, is expanding its activities here. The company is building its second production facility in the Plzeň region and is also planning to construct a development centre. It is investing nearly CZK 4.5 billion in the new plant and equipping it with the latest automated technologies. In addition to that, it is offering high-skilled engineering jobs. The company plans to put the plant into operation in autumn 2022. “We plan to install sophisticated automated equipment at the facility, leveraging the latest modern technologies to minimize environmental impacts, and strengthened by our recent commitment to 100% renewable energy to cover our operations in Europe,” said Gerhard Mayer, vice-president of Ball Beverage Packaging EMEA. The investment in the amount of nearly CZK 4.5 billion is part of the company’s broader strategy to increase investments throughout EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa). At the same time, the company has begun assembling a technology team, which will further develop and improve its automated and semi-automated production lines. “With CzechInvest’s assistance, we are...
The Czech government is ordering medical and other university and high school students to help out at hospitals struggling to cope with the record numbers of COVID-19 patients, the country’s health minister said on Friday. Health Minister Jan Blatny warned that hospitals across the country are under “extreme pressure” amid an infection surge that he attributed to a highly contagious coronavirus variant. “The more infectious variant of the coronavirus, the British one, has been spreading across all our regions and has become dominant in the Czech Republic,” Blatny said. Blatny said students will get to work at hospitals on Monday. He said the situation will remain difficult as 600-700 daily hospital admissions are expected over the next 10 days. Daily confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 13,074 on Friday. Of those patients hospitalized 1,735 were in intensive care – eight less than a record set a few days ago. Individual hospitals, especially in the Czech Republic’s western region near the German border and the central part of the country around Prague, have been already overwhelmed, transferring some patients to clinics elsewhere in the country. “Staff are terribly tired,” Petr Hubacek, the director of a regional hospital in Domazlice told Czech public television....
The Czech Republic is set to receive over one million coronavirus vaccine doses in March, out of which some 700,000 doses will be from Pfizer/BioNTech, and roughly two million vaccine doses are to follow in April, Health Minister Jan Blatny told a press conference on Friday. The aim is to administer at least 35,000 doses a day in March and 100,000 a day in April. The vaccination has been speeding up in the Czech Republic and a record 31,376 people were vaccinated on Thursday. As of Thursday, 78 percent of the elderly over 80 who registered for vaccination have received their first dose, while 21 percent have received both doses already. Hospitals With hospitals in some parts of the Czech Republic filled up, the country turned to Germany and other European countries with a request for help. Interior Minister Jan Hamacek said on Wednesday neighboring Germany has offered dozens of beds in its hospitals to treat Czech COVID-19 patients. He said 19 of them were immediately ready. Hamacek added that Switzerland was another country ready to help with 20 beds in its hospitals while offering to take care of the transport of the patients. Talks were also underway with Poland...
After the Czech Republic asked Chinese authorities for the delivery of Chinese Sinopharm vaccines, “according to information provided by the Czech embassy in Beijing, the Chinese side decided to immediately comply with the request,” the Czech president’s spokesperson said on Wednesday. Czech President Miloš Zeman is well known for his close ties with Chinese authorities. In February, he attended a virtual “17+1” summit of China and Central and Eastern European countries, where Chinese President Xi Jinping offered the Sinopharm vaccine to his European counterparts. However, Zeman’s spokesperson said the president had approached China at Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’ request. While the Chinese jabs are currently used in Hungary and Serbia, Poland is also mulling vaccinations using the Sinopharm vaccine. Poland’s Health Minister Adam Niedzielski, however, has said that due to the lack of data, he is not recommending inoculation with the Chinese jab just yet. The Sinopharm vaccine has not yet been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), nor has it applied for registration. The same goes for the Russian Sputnik V. However, PM Babiš admitted that Czechia could bypass the EMA approval process and, like Hungary, approve Sputnik V independently. The Czech government is currently split on this matter...
56-year-old Billionaire and Czech politician, Pavel Sehnal has reportedly been vaccinated at Na Bulovce Hospital after posing as a paramedic, according to Jan Kvaček, director of The Na Bulovce Hospital. The 56-year-old property tycoon owns a private dental clinic at Na Bulovce hospital, Prague 8-Liben. “I am the owner of Bulovka Dental Clinic, and I have dentists there who I am in regular contact with. I was simply invited by my colleagues to participate in the vaccination,” explained Sehnal in an interview. “He was vaccinated despite my ban”, replied Jan Kvaček, CEO of Na Bulovce Hospital. “Mr. Sehnal repeatedly asked if he could be vaccinated, and I repeatedly refused. I explicitly told him he couldn’t get vaccinated because he’s not a paramedic.” According to him, Sehnal got the vaccine by getting confirmation from his clinic that he was a paramedic. Sehnal responded and defended himself, “I am not a doctor, but since the 1st of March, vaccinations also include medical staff, including receptionists and the director, at least that is what I have been informed of by my medical staff.” In contrast, according to the information provided on the website of the facility, the director of the Bulovka Dental Clinic is...
With hospitals in some parts of the Czech Republic filled up, the country turned to Germany and other European countries with a request for help. Interior Minister Jan Hamacek said on Wednesday neighboring Germany has offered dozens of beds in its hospitals to treat Czech COVID-19 patients. He said 19 of them were immediately ready. Hamacek added that Switzerland was another country ready to help with 20 beds in its hospitals while offering to take care of the transport of the patients. Talks were also underway with Poland to provide around 200 beds. Some hospitals in the western Czech Republic near the German border, the central part of the country around Prague and the Pardubice region east of Prague couldn’t admit any more patients and they have to be transported to clinics elsewhere in the country. It wasn’t immediately clear when patients might be taken abroad. “It´s a situation we´ve never experienced before,” Martin Netolicky, said the governor of the Pardubice region. In the latest measures, the government ordered mandatory mass testing of employees in private firms. Those with more than 250 workers started to do it on Wednesday while those with at least 50 employees follow on Friday. Industry...
Beginning on Wednesday, corporate testing will commence in the Czech Republic following a government mandate established in late Feb. however, companies employing more than 50 people have until Friday, Mar. 5 to begin testing. What follows is a comprehensive guide for businesses conducting their own testing. Who is responsible for testing? Companies employing 250 or more workers are required to test at least once a week. The first round of negative results is due by Mar. 12 and cannot be more than seven days old. Companies with 50 to 250 employees are to begin testing from Mar. 5 with a result deadline of Mar. 15. Rules for employees testing positive. Any employee who tests positive must leave the workplace immediately and refrain from re-entering the premises They should contact health care professionals immediately and have the choice to take another PCR confirming their results. Where to get tested. Businesses have the option to hire a healthcare professional to come directly to the worksite or employees can find outpatient clinics offering antigen and PCR tests. Employees may test one another and self-testing is a viable option as well at the discretion of the employer. Rules for self-testing. Self-testing kits must have...
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