An initial allocation of roughly 9,750 COVID-19 vaccine doses could be received in the Czech Republic on December 28, with initial priority given to health care workers. According to the Czech Vaccinological Society, half doses should be delivered in Prague and the other half in Brno. To receive immunity, adults need to receive two doses. Minister of Health Jan Blatný (ANO) said on Friday that the vaccination in the Czech Republic could begin in six-eight weeks. “If everything goes as planned, the vaccination of about 5.5 million people, which is about 60-70 percent of the adult population, should be completed at the end of next summer,” the minister said. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which was announced to be 90% effective at protecting people from coronavirus, needs to be stored at around -70C. According to the government’s strategy, the vaccine should be delivered to one million people in the first quarter of 2021, to 2.62 million people in the second quarter, to 2.42 million people in the third quarter, and to 382,000 people in the last three months of next year. Vaccination should be voluntary and fully covered by public health insurance. People over 65 years old and younger patients with serious diseases...
Recent statistics from the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) show an increase in the country’s population by 13,900 inhabitants, between the months of January and September 202o. CZSO attributes the increase in the country’s population to international migration. The population number in the Czech Republic rose by 13,900 to 10.71 million in the first nine months of the year, largely due to migration, according to the data released by the Czech Statistical Office (CSU) today. The number of newborn babies diminished by over 2,600 to 83,300. The number of immigrants reached 16,700, whilst 10,100 people emigrated from the Czech Republic. According to the CZSO, flows of both immigrants and emigrants were higher in the year-on-year comparison. According to the Ministry of Health, 9,600 people with proven coronavirus infection have died since the epidemic began in March this year. “Despite COVI-19 is the main reason for the increased mortality in the Czech Republic, the data in October also show an increase in mortality for different reasons,” said Jan Blatný (ANO). Most people immigrated to the Czech Republic from Ukraine, Slovakia, and Russia – trends similar to the previous years. On the other hand, the number of British, Poles, and Germans living in...
Due to the large interest from the public, the Czech government wants to start free Covid-19 antigen testing for the public from Wednesday. The PM Andrej Babiš said that 5,200 general practitioners, 6,000 dentists, and 9,000 outpatient specialists could potentially be involved in the testing. The free Covid testing will be conducted at around 2,000 places, including existing testing centres and doctors’ surgeries. The country has already started using targeted antigen testing — which is faster and logistically easier than standard PCR tests but not as accurate — in homes for the elderly. “We want to enable all citizens to be tested voluntarily and free of charge with antigen tests. We said that it will be possible from December 18 to January 15, but due to the great interest of citizens, it looks like the testing can start from Wednesday, December 16,” Babiš said on Facebook. “Citizens who do not have internet connection can order the test calling 1221,” he added. More details should be announced at Monday’s press conference. Neighbouring Slovakia has already carried out millions of antigen tests in a campaign at the start of November that covered most of its population. Those that did not take the...
From Monday, the Czech Republic should move to the fourth stage of the anti-epidemic system PES, confirmed the Minister of Industry and Transport Karel Havlíček (ANO) in an interview with CNN Prima News. However, the government is likely to grant some exemptions and wants to keep shops and some services such as hairdressers open. According to the Minister, the closure of restaurants and hotels can be expected from Friday, December 18. If hotels and restaurants need to close again, “they will receive a compensation package,” added Havlíček. He also commented on the regulation prohibiting the drinking of coffee or tea in a cup in public. “It’s our fault if we didn’t communicate it clearly. If someone is at work and wants to go for coffee, they can buy it at a restaurant and take it with them. We just do not want widespread consumption.” “Our measures are trying to protect health. Covid is spreading much faster than we expected,” he added. Czech PES (Protiepidemický Systém) score rises to 71 on Sunday, which is equivalent to the fourth of five levels of risk alertness. If the risk score remains at a value at a lower level for seven days consecutively, then...
Czech PES (Protiepidemický Systém) score rises to 71 on Sunday. The Czech Republic reported 3,655 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday and continuing a trend of showing a weekly rise in infections. However, people are already showing considerable reluctance to respect restrictions measures. On Wednesday, 23 restaurants and cafes remained open for two more hours after 20:00 in protest against the COVID-19 measures. The police came, for example, to Malý Janek restaurant in Jince in Příbram, to Šeberák pub in Prague and to U Rady in Ostrava. People who spent time in these facilities after 8 pm can face a fine of 20,000 CZK. Legal entities cannot be fined according to current legal norms. In total, the police carried out 4,189 inspections of restaurants and bars. Opponents of government measures met in front of the Janáček Theater in Brno on Saturday. According to the demonstrators, all the restriction measures are pointless. “There is no medical reason for it, it’s just politics and ruining our budget. Our children will bounce it off. And the government still has the audacity to offer us some bonds for Christmas,” said Jiří K. This week, the Czech Ministry of Finance shared a video with a...
Ever since employees of the US state of Utah spotted a strange monolith in the Utah desert in November, many more have appeared and disappeared across the United States and Europe, while skipping the Czech Republic – until one appeared in Otrokovice near Zlín on Saturday. As Blesk.cz reports, “people are already taking pictures of it and becoming a local attraction”. No one claimed responsibility for the installation. A shining metal object, the monolith seems right out of a science-fiction plot and has sparked a flurry of memes and even conspiracy theories on social media. The first monolith was spotted by a helicopter crew counting bighorn sheep in Utah on November 18. The appearance of the object sparked wild rumours of alien visitations because of its resemblance to the black monolith in the Stanley Kubrick science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Days after it was first spotted, the monolith mysteriously disappeared from the desert in Utah with authorities still speculating how the shimmering, mirrored object was installed at a remote spot in the desert, to begin with. The large monolith was then spotted on Compton Beach on the southwest of the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of...
The staff of Café Prostoru, located in the National Technical Library in Prague, figured out how to get around the government ban that prohibits the sale of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in plastic cups from dispensing widows and street stalls. “The aim is that we do not walk around Christmas markets or on the streets with cups and food in hand,” said Health Minister Jan Blatny. The regulation, however, contains a clause that permits the sale of takeaway drinks can at drive-ins. By law, the goods must be passed directly through the car window. Employees from Café Prostoru parked a car decorated with Christmas lights at the entrance to the cafe and invite customers to sit in the “salon” for a few seconds, get a coffee in the glass through the open window, and continue on foot. Formally, there is no violation of the law. The move prompted Czechs to voice their displeasure in the online comment sections of news websites. “This is a pure mockery,” wrote one internet user. “I don’t have time to sit in the cafe in the morning before work,” complained another. Others responded with sarcasm, with one comment reading, “This will definitely save us...
Czech Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček reckons that starting in January, Czechs will only have to pass an antigen test to be able to travel to the surrounding countries. The same should apply when citizens return to the Czech Republic. “We have already launched negotiations with Slovakia, Austria and Germany. An agreement is very close. Austria, in particular, is in favor of this. However, we expect that the change will take place only after the New Year because, for example, Austria has a lockdown lasting until the tenth of January,” said Petříček. The ministry plans to negotiate a concurrent date with Slovakia and Germany. “In the case of Germany, I am convinced that we will be able to remove the remaining issues so that we can also recognize antigen tests for travel in mid-January. We are working very intensively on this with the Ministry of Health,” added the Czech Foreign Minister. The new procedure would not be fundamentally different from the current one. “In addition to PCR tests, we would also allow the use of antigen tests. For people to be able to travel to neighboring Austria, for example, they would take the test and be allowed to enter the territory...
From Monday, December 14, Czechs can return without any restrictions from France and Greece. Only foreigners who work or study in the Czech Republic for a long time need to submit a COVID-19 test upon arrival from these two countries. As of Monday of November 9th, 2020 there is in force a new Ministry of Health Protective Measure which regulates the entry of persons to the Czech Republic. The consequent epidemiological measures and restrictions are applicable both to the Czech citizens returning to the Czech Republic and to all foreign nationals. Countries are divided into three categories: green, orange, and red. Green – travelers from these countries (both foreign nationals and Czech citizens) may enter without the obligation to fill in the Public Health Passenger Locator Form and without the obligation to undergo the PCR test or quarantine. Orange – travelers from these countries may enter without the obligation to fill in the Public Health Passenger Locator Form. Those foreign nationals traveling to the Czech Republic for work or study purposes are be obliged to submit a negative PCR test result prior to entry to the workplace or an educational institution in the Czech Republic. This applies only to foreign nationals....
Seznam.cz, the Czech Republic’s leading home-grown web search platform, said on Thursday it had claimed 9.072 billion crowns in damages from Google, alleging that the U.S. giant restricted competition. Seznam said Google abused a dominant position on the Czech market with licensed operating systems and application stores for smart devices equipped with Android operating system. A spokeswoman for Google, a unit of Alphabet, said it could not comment as it had not yet received the claim. “Based on the European Commission’s decision back in 2018 which confirmed that Google was in breach with EU antitrust rules, we claim the compensation of damage that we have suffered while trying to distribute our applications and services via mobile devices with Android operation system,” Seznam deputy chairman Pavel Zima said. Google has rejected assertions that it unfairly favours its own services. It says that its users are not locked in and that competition is just one click away on the internet. “Android provides people with unprecedented choice in deciding which applications they install, use and set as default on their devices, and enables millions of app developers around the world to build successful businesses,” Google said. Seznam said the claim, based on the...
Despite the decrease of the anti-epidemic system PES, tourists have yet to start visiting Prague and certain hoteliers have decided to respond to the coronavirus epidemic on their own terms. Offers for long-term renting of hotel rooms that would otherwise stay empty seem to be on the rise. These include rooms situated on Wenceslas Square or in the greater area of the city centre. Smaller low-cost apartments, as well as those on the larger side, have been available for rent. Due to the coronavirus epidemic, the cost of rent in the capital city has consistently decreased by a few percentage points, nonetheless, accommodation in Prague still ranks as the most expensive nationwide and accommodation availability continues to be a topic widely discussed by Prague politicians for several years. Hotel chains that have started with long-term renting are bound to shake up the real estate market. During a time when a number of hoteliers have been spending the past few months counting their losses, others, for example, Czech Inn Hotels, have turned to long-term renting. 500 of their rooms have been repurposed for long-term renting, approximately 200 of which have already become occupied. Tourists aren’t returning any time soon According to...
Several pubs around the country protested and defied the start of an earlier closing time that started on Wednesday after the government walked back some of its easier restrictions this week. On Wednesday, 23 restaurants and cafes remained open for two more hours after 20:00 in protest against the COVID-19 measures. “The government has thrown pubs, bars, culture, and services overboard. The Czech Republic is not a dictatorship! From now on, we will defend our rights,” said one of the business operators. And as they might have expected, the police arrived around 8.30 pm. As Novinky.cz reports, the police came, for example, to Malý Janek restaurant in Jince in Příbram, to Šeberák pub in Prague and to U Rady in Ostrava. “At a time when shopping centers are open and crowded, restricting restaurants is irrelevant. It may seem to some that it is only two hours, but for us, these are the most expensive hours of our operation.” People who spent time in these facilities after 8 pm can face a fine of 20,000 CZK. Legal entities cannot be fined according to current legal norms. “We do not agree with the government’s unsystematic restrictions. Although we follow all hygiene measures,...
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