Worried citizens in certain localities in Prague have come together to share their concern over the number of drug users in their once-peaceful areas. Inhabitants, especially in Prague 5, claim that large groups of drug users gather around contact centres, and they have now demanded change. The citizens’ petition, and the joint declaration of several city districts, has been created to insist that these services are instead spread throughout Prague. The council has now complied with the concerned locals and approved a resolution according to which the municipality should start working on the decentralization of these services and increase the budget for cleaning and guarding critical areas. The most affected areas include the vicinity of Anděl, near the U Zvonu tram stop in Prague 5 and around Mahenova Street, where locals have even documented cases where drug addicts stab themselves in the middle of the street. A petition “For a safe and clean Prague 5” has been created, which has been signed by hundreds of concerned locals. “I sign because I do not like this situation, I have a daughter of 10 years old and she has found a syringe several times, people have shouted at her several times and...
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. Interior Minister Jan Hamáček said on Monday that legal requirements have not yet been met to declare a nationwide state of emergency due to sharply rising numbers of Covid-19 cases. Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki has asked for a meeting of the Visegrad Four (V4; Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) group’s leaders over the migration crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border, Polish government spokesman Piotr Muller told Polish TV Polsat today. Energie CS will merge with Amper Market. Both belong to Jiří Písařík’s Bohemia Energy group, which ceased operations in mid-October. The merger of the two companies is in line with Bohemia Energy’s strategy to wind down its operations gradually, spokeswoman Hana Novotná said on Monday. Protesters marched through the Czech capital of Prague on Monday to decry the government´s restrictions on unvaccinated people as new infections soared in the European Union nation. The festive lighting of the Christmas tree on the Old Town Square, scheduled for 27 November, will NOT take place due to the deteriorating epidemiological situation.
“That’s pedaling, isn’t it?” wonders the author of one of the comments under a photo of a strange toy car driving through the center of Prague. Among various imitations of electric scooters and horse-drawn carriages, other novel attractions made their way to the metropolis — much to the distaste of regular car drivers. A group of low single-seater cars drive along the road in the center of Prague. Laughing people in helmets sit behind the wheel. But drivers in ordinary cars do not share much joy with them. “Carriages, scooters and cyclists are constantly holding back traffic like this. Now, this is it,” one driver remarked. “Another tourist attraction, as if the disgusting ‘replicas’ of historic cars weren’t enough,” added another critic who is more bothered by the strange design of the toy cars. The cars in question are mini hot rods: miniatures of popular modified cars with giant engines in America, which are designed for racing on straight tracks. The ones in Prague are designed for driving around the city. The company Hot Rod Prague offers the ride as an experience, which is resold by other portals such as Slevomat.cz or Firmanazazitky.cz. For half an hour, customers pay 800...
The Czech Medical Chamber (ČLK) called on politicians to “introduce comprehensive measures to reduce contacts between people, which are generally referred to as lockdowns, as soon as possible.” The Chamber also emphasizes in its Sunday report that the epidemic situation in the Czech Republic is extremely serious. “We support the adoption of such legislative changes that will enable the introduction of compulsory vaccination against covid-19 for people over the age of 18 in the Czech Republic as soon as possible,” the Czech Medical Chamber said in a statement. The Chamber also calls on all physicians to respect the professional recommendations published by ČLK, in particular to promote vaccination and not to spread unfounded doubts about the effectiveness and safety of vaccination. “The effort of health professionals to continue caring for patients will be crucial. However, they need immediate and effective help from political representation as well as public support,” warns ČLK. At the same time, ČLK proposes that the third, ie booster dose of vaccination, be given as early as 5 months after the second dose. Mandatory vaccinations The head of ČLK Milan Kubek told iDNES.cz that mandatory vaccination, for example for selected groups, should have been introduced a long...
On Monday, Health Minister Adam Vojtech will request the Chamber of Deputies to declare a state of emergency due to the unmanageable coronavirus epidemic. Medical facilities across the country are struggling to cope with the recent surge in novel coronavirus infections. According to chief hygienist Pavla Svrčinová, the state of emergency would, among other things, facilitate the deployment of medical students in hospitals. Education Minister Robert Plaga said on social media he hopes the Health Ministry does not want a state of emergency so that medics can help hospitals instead of studying. “I hope the Chief Hygienist and Health Ministry do not mean that seriously!” wrote the Minister. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, as well as the probable future Minister of Health Vlastimil Válek, have recently assured that there will be no lockdown. The state of emergency was first declared in March last year, and a second time before 5 October. It was extended several times and ended on April 11 this year. The measures are now being issued under a special pandemic law, which will expire at the end of February next year. “In hospitals, retirement homes, social care facilities, there is a lack of staff,” Svrčinová said to Radiožurnál’s....
The Czech authorities have decided to tighten up entry restrictions for travellers from Germany, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Andorra, Romania, Spain, the Canary Islands and Madeira, after a spike up in the number of cases in these seven countries and two islands in recent weeks. According to the decision announced by the Czech Ministry of Health, starting from Monday, November 22, Germany, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Iceland, and Andorra will be added to the dark red category. “Romania, the Canary Islands and Madeira will be moved to the red category. The orange category will expand to include Spain,” the Ministry notes in a press release announcing the changes to the lists, adding that the changes have been made based on available data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The decision means that travellers from Germany, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Andorra, who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 and have not recovered from the virus in the last 180 days, aside from having to fill in the prearrival form, will also need to undergo an antigen or PCR test before they reach the country if they are travelling by public transportation. This test is not required for those reaching Czechia with...
Online supermarket Rohlik is now expanding into Italy, Romania and Spain under the brand name Sezamo. Next year, the Czech company will reach seven countries, after which more cities will follow in Germany. 8,000 items within 2 hours The Czech online supermarket Rohlik is continuing its European conquest: in 2022, the disruptor will launch in Italy, Romania and Spain, bringing the total up to seven countries. In the new markets, the online supermarket will be branded Sezamo, named after sesame seeds and the phrase “open sesame”. Until now, the e-commerce player operated in each country under a different name. In Austria, for instance, they are called Gurkerl, and in Germany, the company operates under the brand name Knuspr. Despite the different names, the recipe remains the same throughout: Rohlik is an online-only supermarket delivering to consumers’ doorsteps within two to three hours and offers a full range of supermarket products. Sezamo, for example, intends to offer around 8,000 fresh items delivered within three hours in Italy and two hours in Romania. “To be ten times better than the supermarket” The concept is thus a cross between the growing express delivery services, such as retailer Gorillas – present as keynote speaker at RetailDetail Night – and traditional online grocery...
Revenues in hotel and restaurants services are falling again. In the first week of November, businesses made almost 22 percent less on average than in the previous week, the last week of October. The slight decline continued in the second week of November. Several factors are to blame – the worsening epidemiological situation, the end of seasonal operations of selected restaurants, the reintroduction of homeoffice by employees of some businesses and infection-free controls. Naturally, with falling revenues, number of visitors has also fallen, by just under 16 per cent in the first week of November. That’s according to data from Storyous, which creates a comprehensive restaurant system. Even rising prices did not compensate restaurants for the decline in guests at the beginning of November. According to Storyous data, restaurant attendance fell by nearly 16 percent and average revenue per establishment fell by nearly 22 percent. In the second week of November, average revenue continued to decline by another two percent, while attendance fell by 9 percent. “There are a number of factors behind the decline – the worsening epidemiological situation, the end of seasonal operations of selected restaurants, home office regulation by some companies, people’s fears of contagion and, no...
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 police will launch intensive inspections for compliance with epidemiological measures as of Monday (November 22), according to their post on a social network. During the checks, the police will cooperate with regional branches of the Public Health Office. “The situation is really bad, and we ask you to take care of yourselves properly,” reads the post. The Czech Republic is the fifth-worst COVID-affected country of the European Union (EU), with 718 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the past seven days, while a week ago it was 10th with 499 cases, the data released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) show. People around the Czech Republic donated 410 tons of non-perishable products for the needy on Saturday within the bi-annual National Food Collection. Some 1,300 shops and supermarket chains around the country joined the charity effort. Tereza Hlůšková, a Czech citizen who was detained by customs officers in the Pakistani city of Lahore with nine kilograms of heroin in 2018, was released from a Pakistani prison on Saturday....
This year’s Christmas tree for Prague’s Old Town Square is on its way. The 21-meter-tall spruce had been growing on private land in the village of Dolní Černá Studnice. Yet the tall Christmas tree which will dominate the square is already on its way to the capital and will be officially lit on November 27th. This particular tree, says Petr Hozák of Taiko, comes from “a private garden,” and he noted that it has “wonderful branches.” It’ll definitely need them for all the decorations that’ll be hung on it. You can also rest assured that, after its duty as the centerpiece of the Old Town holiday festivities, it will be properly recycled and re-used in some form. Last year’s Christmas tree came from the village of Semily (Liberec Region) in the north of the Czech Republic. The market organizing firm Taiko looks for trees that are in danger of being cut down in the near future. This way, the impact of cutting down the tree is minimal as it was already destined to come down. In addition to the Old Town Square market, there are other markets (and smaller trees) at Wenceslas Square, Naměsti Míru, Kampa Island, and on the...
November 21, 2021, is the 49th annual World Hello Day. Anyone can participate in World Hello Day simply by greeting ten people. This demonstrates the importance of personal communication for preserving peace. World Hello Day was begun in response to the conflict between Egypt and Israel in the Fall of 1973. Since then, World Hello Day has been observed by people in 180 countries. Czechs have many different ways of greeting each other. While this might confuse foreigners still struggling with the excruciating difficulties of the language, we’ve noticed that Czechs themselves were not necessarily aware of the story behind their salutation phrases. “Ahoj” is the most common expression to say “hi” or “hello” to friends and relatives. As many Czech greetings, you can also use it to say goodbye. While most scholars consider that “ahoy!” or “hoy!” were first used by Scottish or English sailors to draw attention to something and greet other ships, interpretations differ. Some linguists and historians also claim it was used, on land, to drive cattle. Less widely-used than the first Czech greetings, “nazdar” is yet another way to say “hi”. Literally meaning “to the success”, the idiom dates back to the mid-19th century. At...
Global survey of over two million adults reveals worldwide trends in English proficiency EF Education First released today the 2021 edition of its EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI), analysing data from two million non-native English speakers in 112 countries and regions. As worldwide levels of English improve, Scandinavia no longer dominates the top positions of this global ranking. Adults from Netherlands were ranked as the best non-native English speakers with a score of 663, followed by those from Austria (641), Denmark (636), and Singapore (635). Yemen had the lowest score, with just 360 points. Czech Republic has placed fifth-worst in Europe. Only France, Italy, and Spain have lower levels of English than the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic fell from 19th to 27th place, in what is the steepest drop registered across Europe this year. The EF EPI is based on test scores from the EF Standard English Test (EF SET), used worldwide by thousands of schools, companies, and governments for large-scale testing as well as millions of individual test takers. Key findings of the EF EPI 2021 include: Europe’s English proficiency is consistently strong and climbing, driven in large part by improved proficiency among older adults. Central and East Asia are trending up while South Asia and the...
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