Shops and shopping centers around the country will not reopen on February 22. The vast majority of them have been closed since October, with a brief exception in the run-up to Christmas, and are scrambling to stock up and prepare to meet the stated safety norms. “The pandemic situation is not good, the UK variant is still spreading. That’s why we decided not to open closed shops for now,” Havlicek said, adding the government will debate shop openings again next week. Pandemická situace není dobrá, dál se šíří britská mutace viru. Na vládě jsme proto rozhodli, že zbytek uzavřených maloobchodů zatím pouštět nebudeme. V příštím týdnu téma ale opět otevřu a podle stavu šíření epidemie navrhnu další kroky. https://t.co/z2j4FgnlKa — Karel Havlíček (@KarelHavlicek_) February 19, 2021 Just a few days ago, Minister of Health Jan Blatný agreed to reopen stores on Monday, February 22. “Store staff needs to wear FFP2 respirators and will be expected to enforce the stated hygiene norms – safe distancing, only one customer per 15 square meters, hand sanitation, and facemasks,” said Havlíček on Tuesday. “Although customers can cover their nose and mouth with a regular facemask, shopping malls should motivate them to wear respirators...
The government has reached an agreement on new pandemic law. The Minister of Health now has the power to order lockdown measures (with the exception of restricting freedom of movement) without the State of Emergency. It’s a step to end a political crisis that started last week after the lower house refused the minority government’s request to extend the state of emergency, a powerful tool that gives the Cabinet the extra powers needed to impose nationwide restrictions and limit people’s rights. In defiance, the government re-declared the state of emergency at the request of the leaders of all 14 Czech regions, who said they do have not enough powers to fight the pandemic. The Minister of Health praises the new law. “I consider this solution essential for an effective fight against the current epidemic,” said Blatný. “The purpose of the proposal is to provide adequate tools for managing the epidemic, even in the post-emergency period. The current legal regulation in the Act on the Protection of Public Health appears to be insufficient,” added the Minister of Health. “The agreement is a big step towards moving from the endless prolongation of the state of emergency towards a more normal life,” said...
In a press conference of the Ministry of the Interior, Health Minister Jan Blatný expressed his frustrations with the current handling of anti-covid measures. The main sentiment of his speech seemed to call upon the public to take personal responsibility because it is all in their hands now. Minister Blatný stated that the situation is even more critical now as just Wed. alone saw 10,813 new COVID infections detected, over six thousand reported to be hospitalized, two dozen people on artificial blood circulation. Hospitals across the country are already at their maximum capacity and the situation does not look promising. It’s estimated that five out fourteen Czech regions will have no free hospital beds by the end of Feb. Currently hospitals in both Prague and Karlovy Vary have less than ten percent capacity remaining. The minister believes that foreign aid may be able to donate hospital beds but only a fraction of what will be needed if the country’s hospital system collapses. Blatný believes the Czech Republic will require thousands of beds donated and more than any foreign intervention will be able to provide. Meanwhile, the return of children to schools and the reopening of retail shops are still planned...
This year, the Czech Republic will send 140 million CZK from the On-Site Assistance program mainly to the Western Balkans and Jordan to relieve these countries from strong migratory pressures or to assist refugees in their countries of origin. Central European countries like the Czech Republic and Hungary have long advocated sending aid to countries where migrants come from to reduce the pressure on Europe’s borders. In addition, the Medevac health and humanitarian program with aid totaling 55 million korunas (€2.14 million) will go to international organizations that help in Iraq, Mauritania, and Nigeria, according to Eurozpravy.cz. As the Czech Ministry of Interior stated in a press release, the goals of both programs include sending medical teams to problematic areas, building medical infrastructure, providing direct assistance to refugees, and fighting against illegal migration. A total of 50 million CZK will go to Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Serbia this year. The aim is to strengthen the countries’ capacities in asylum policy, receiving migrants, and their integration or return to their home countries. The Czech Republic plans to donate another 25 million CZK to Jordan on stabilizing the situation of Syrian refugees in the country. The same amount will go...
The situation with the coronavirus epidemic across the Czech Republic may be as serious as in the Cheb, Sokolov, and Trutnov districts in two to three weeks, Health Minister Jan Blatný told journalists on Wednesday. The government has cordoned off the districts Cheb and Sokolov, west Bohemia, and Trutnov, east Bohemia, due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus. Blatný said the more contagious UK variant of the virus was increasingly spreading in the western part of Bohemia. The minister said hospitals were close to capacity and were only coping with an influx of Covid patients thanks to transfers between regions. On average, about 40 percent of people tested for COVID-19 show a British coronavirus mutation. However, there are big differences between the regions. For example, laboratories in the Liberec region reported up to a 70% share, Hradec Králové region about a 60% share. The occupancy of hospitals and their intensive care units also differs. On average, 16 percent of ICU beds are available in the whole Czech Republic. Latest statistics The official death toll from COVID-19 has reached 18,596 as of Tuesday, a rise of 166 which includes deaths from that day and revisions to previous days, according to...
There are only about 180 ICU beds available in Czech hospitals for patients with COVID-19 out of a total of more than 3,900. The situation is worse in the western part of the Czech Republic, Minister of Health Jan Blatný (ANO) said at a press conference after today’s government meeting. About 84 percent of the total capacity in the country is occupied. “At the moment, the number of people in the ICU is growing slightly,” the minister said on Czech Television. Therefore, he did not want to state any specific date when it would be possible to relax one of the measures as requires by the regional governors, ie the opening of shops and services. “The situation is different than in the spring or autumn wave of the epidemic. People in intensive care units need care for longer than before”. On average, about 40 percent of people tested for COVID-19 show a British coronavirus mutation. However, there are big differences between the regions. For example, laboratories in the Liberec region reported up to a 70% share, Hradec Králové region about a 60% share. The occupancy of hospitals and their intensive care units also differs. On average, 16 percent of ICU...
Czech Cardinal Dominik Duka gave a sermon in early February where he made some bold claims about the COVID-19 virus. Duka claimed the virus originated as a biological weapon and that his claims could be supported by the military. “All military specialists around the world are convinced of this, who are either afraid to say it or they must not say it,” Duka claimed during the sermon. Jiří Prinz, a spokesman for the archbishop of Prague told CNN Prima News that the cardinal made this statement as more of a theory but that his claim is supported by members of the Czech army. Despite this statement, Prinz did not indicate which member of the Czech army would support such a claim. The Czech military has made it clear that they do not agree with Duka’s sermon. Jan Pejšek, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, told iROZHLAS.cz: “We have no such evidence, nor have we ever presented it anywhere. The World Health Organization is now trying to find out the origin of the virus. We will wait for the opinion of the experts. We refuse to speculate,” said Pejšek. Duka also made comments about how the virus is outperforming our advanced society....
Minister of Health Jan Blatný has agreed to reopen stores next Monday. However, the store staff needs to wear FFP2 respirators. Customers will not be required to wear respirators, but are encouraged to do so. The proposal awaits approval by the Czech government. “The opening of retail stores is a significant shift. It’s a big psychological break. After a long time, people will see the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček on Twitter on Tuesday. He also has support from the Minister of the Interior and the head of the Central Crisis Staff, Jan Hamáček. Havlíček announced the opening date on Monday after negotiations with regional representatives, and his words were confirmed by the chairman of the regional association, Martin Kuba. The number of shoppers per store area will remain limited, ie still to 15 square meters per person. Customers should also keep a distance from others and use disinfectants. Další krok ke znovuotevření maloobchodu v pondělí 22/2. Po dohodě na Radě vlády pro zdravotní rizika je tento návrh přijatelný, a to za předpokladu, že personál obchodů bude povinně používat respirátory na bázi FFP2, do osvěty zapojíme...
The Czech government plans to reopen schools for more students from March 1 with regular testing for coronavirus infections, which remain at high levels, ministers said on Monday. The gradual reopening of schools has been one of the main demands from opposition parties and the public increasingly weary with the country’s lengthy lockdown. In-class tuition is at the moment open only for children in the two lowest grades of elementary schools, along with kindergartens. “If we secure enough (tests), nothing prevents children from beginning to return to schools,” Interior Minister Jan Hamacek told a news conference. Education Minister Robert Plaga said the return would start with final years of primary and secondary schools and be followed by other grades, hand in hand with the government’s ability to secure enough suitable rapid-result antigen tests. The plan for school reopening comes as hospitals in several regions creak under the inflow of COVID-19 patients, which is in part due to the spread of the more infectious British variant of the virus. Germany on the weekend tightened entry restrictions on the Czech and Austrian borders due to the spread of coronavirus mutations in the two countries. The Czech Republic has reported 18,250 coronavirus deaths...
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, we have to deal with many restrictions that have an impact on the very basics of our lives. One of the aspects of our lives that are greatly affected by these restrictions is, of course, work. Not only does it make working more difficult but even getting a job in the first place is very toilsome, to say the least. There is, however, another problem most people currently don’t have to experience – travelling to the Czech Republic for work. The Very First Step It is crucial to mention that if you are a third-country citizen, then in order to be able to arrive in the Czech Republic for work, you first need to get a job. Sure, it may sound odd since searching for a job in a foreign country is much easier once you’re there, but without having a job you cannot get a visa. And without a visa, there is no chance you’ll be even able to enter the country. This, however, only applies to non-EU citizens, so if you are coming from an EU member state, you don’t have to be worried about this. As for the visa itself, it...
Tailbacks stretching back several kilometers have developed on the Czech roads leading to the German border after Germany declared its neighbor a risk zone due to a coronavirus variant and reintroduced checks for incoming travelers. On the E55/D8 autobahn connecting Prague with Dresden, lorries were queuing all the way back to Usti nad Labem on Monday morning. Police were stopping drivers before letting them enter the tunnel there. On the E50/D5, which leads to the German city of Nuremberg, a queue of lorries initially grew to over 20 kilometers long, according to the motorway administration office and radio traffic news. On Sunday, Germany launched entry bans at its borders with the Czech Republic and the Austrian region of Tyrol, due to concerns about more virulent strains of the novel coronavirus in those areas. There are exceptions for key workers who have to commute across the borders, including lorry drivers, and for German citizens or foreigners resident in Germany. Those people have to register online and present a negative coronavirus test at the border, which must be no older than 48 hours. Czech authorities have boosted their testing capacity in border regions in response to the travel ban, using the fire...
Maren Gräfová will become the very first female director of Škoda. Gräfová is a Czech lawyer, and she will be filling in this position on the 1 of March 2021. Martin Jahn will also become a member. Gräfová will be replacing Bohdan Wojnar, who is responsible for human resources, while Jahn will be replacing Alain Favey, who is in charge of sales and marketing. Jahn will also be filling in this position on the 1 of March. Favey will soon be entrusted with new tasks in the Volkswagen Group, and Wojnar will continue to be president of the Automotive Industry Association. He decided to leave his position after ten years. Gräfová is a lawyer who started her career at the Volkswagen Group. Firstly, she was in the legal department before she became the assistant to the CEO. In November 2018, she was appointed head of the human resources department of the VW Group’s top management. Gräfová is a human resources expert with international experience, and the chairman of the Board of Directors at Škoda, Thomas Schäfer, has personally commended her. The chairman has also disclosed Gräfová’s tasks at the automobile company and said, “her task now will be to take...
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