Travel agencies optimistically await the beginning of the tourist season as some of them report a threefold increase in interest in spending summer holidays abroad compared to last year. According to the agencies, people grew accustomed to coronavirus measures and are more adapted than before to travel under extraordinary circumstances caused by the pandemic. Covid passports are likely to become a hallmark of traveling in 2021, indicating whether a holder was vaccinated or tested negative and ensuring there are as few hindrances as possible during their vacation. So far, tourists have shown the greatest interest in EU destinations, such as Greece, Croatia, Bulgaria, or Spain. “We have sold thousands of summer tours at this point. Thirty percent of clients head to Greece. We also notice that Czechs want to indulge themselves more, so they choose high-quality hotels with better services closer to the sea,” said Andrea Řezníčková, the spokesperson of the travel agency Invia.cz. Tourists also expect strict hygiene measures on all stages of their voyages and often even require them themselves. “We can certainly count on the disinfection of premises. Besides, the all-inclusive system will be readjusted and service personnel retrained,” Jan Bezděk, the spokesperson of the travel agency...
During World War II, the Gestapo used Terezin, better known as Theresienstadt after its German name, as a ghetto for Jews who were mainly from Czechoslovakia, but also from Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Denmark. More than 150,000 Jews were sent there and although there were no extermination camps, around 33,000 died mainly due to terrible conditions that had prevailed in the ghetto. 88,000 ghetto residents were deported to Auschwitz and other extermination camps. At the end of the war, there were 17,247 survivors. As reported by BBC, the bulk of the buildings where Jews were once forced to live are now in ruins, despite their historical significance. The camp was used by Nazi propaganda, through the 1944 movie “Theresienstadt”, to portray it as a place where Jews lived happily; in truth, 35,000 Jews died of hunger and disease there, and many more were deported to be transferred to Auschwitz or Treblinka. The decay of the city is due to the fact that since 1790, when it was founded, it has always hosted numerous soldiers from the various armies that governed the territory, from the Austro-Hungarian to the Czechoslovakian, which left Terezin in the early 90s. Since the local economy...
The Czech Republic reported its lowest daily tally of new COVID-19 cases since September on Monday, the same day a six-month state of emergency expired and many pupils return to the classroom. The central European country was badly hit by the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Czech government managed to slow the spread of infections by imposing its toughest lockdown yet. Students in grades 1-5 were set to return to school on Monday and restrictions on movement eased with people allowed once more to travel outside their home districts. The government has kept non-essential shops, restaurants and sport and entertainment centres shut almost continuously since October, except for a brief re-opening in December that was quickly reversed amid another surge in COVID-19 cases. Czech students have faced the longest school closures in the European Union. The state is looking to take a slower approach to relaxing measures this time, hoping to avoid a need to return to lockdowns that could punish the economy, which remains buoyed by factories still running under mandatory worker testing. The health ministry recorded 976 new COVID-19 infections on Sunday, the first daily tally below 1,000 since September. The official death toll has...
Russians on Monday celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first manned flight to space carried out by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin as the Soviet hero remains one of the most admired figures in the country. On April 12, 1961, Gagarin’s Vostok spacecraft took off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, then part of the Soviet Union, as the 27-year-old cosmonaut exclaimed his iconic catchphrase “Let’s go!”. His flight lasted just 108 minutes, the time it took to complete one loop around the Earth, before returning to home soil. Following his historic flight, Gagarin embarked on a world tour, and the very first city he visited, just two weeks after his return to the earth’s atmosphere, was Prague. Czechoslovak Radio asked him if he had a message for listeners: “Greetings to all the working people of Czechoslovakia. I wish you the best for the coming summer: in your work, in your private life, and in building socialism and peace in the whole world.”
Have you ever thought: “Do I need a therapist?”. Starting therapy may seem like a big decision. People often say to themselves that the situation is as it is and it is necessary to just carry on. How do we know when it is time to ask for help? Or what if you just feel that you need to share your thoughts with someone who will listen and understand…without starting therapy? Therapy in the Forest (Terapie v lese) could be the perfect starting point that will help you to understand yourself better. “I have been at a professional crossroads for about a year. A year ago, my business collapsed and I — exhausted, with a one-year-old son on my hands — was at the start of my profession again. I felt I needed closure on this topic. I expected to talk about my role as a leader; however, the journey with my therapist Hana completely exceeded my expectations. Very soon we got to my intimate topic, which is harmony between male and female energy,” says Šárka, who experienced a 3-hour-long forest journey with Hana, an experienced therapist. Therapy that doesn’t feel like therapy Therapy in the forest started in late...
Tenants of non-residential business premises rented to the city of Prague can submit an application for a 30% discount until 31 May Throughout the past year, businesses have struggled tremendously. Some have seen a sharp decline in revenue while others have had no other choice but to permanently close. Understanding the severity of this, Prague has offered support to entrepreneurs, in an effort to help them recover from the economic impact of the pandemic. On 9 April, the municipality of Prague announced that entrepreneurs who are based in buildings in the capital can now apply for a discount on rent until the end of May. Commenting on this, Councillor Jan Chabr clarified that entrepreneurs will have access to a 30% discount. “We are fully aware of the current crisis situation associated with COVID-19, which has serious economic consequences for tenants of non-residential premises in the capital city of Prague, and therefore, we are always looking for ways to make it as easy as possible for them,” Chabr disclosed. On its website, the City of Prague clarified that the 30% discount will only apply for the third and fourth quarters of last year. More specifically, the director of the property management department...
Nearly 47% of Czechs say that they are willing to be vaccinated with the Russian-made Sputnik V coronavirus jab, provided it receives an emergency exemption from health authorities in Prague, a new poll has revealed. The poll, by the STEM/MARK research agency, was conducted in early April and reported by the Czech media over the weekend. The majority of those considering the Russian vaccine are men and the elderly from 60 to 75 years of age – those who are most at risk from complications associated with the virus. The vaccine is also popular with individuals without higher education and those living in small municipalities, according to the survey. Some 53.4% have rejected the Sputnik V option, citing “general distrust” in the efficacy of the immunization and the fact that it lacks the blessing of the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The EMA is currently in the process of reviewing the Sputnik V application, however, it seems to be in no hurry despite the shortage of coronavirus jabs within the 27-member bloc. This prompted some EU member states, such as Austria, to consider purchasing Sputnik V without the watchdog’s approval. On Saturday, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced that negotiations to acquire the Russian...
Czech Health Minister Petr Arenberger said on Saturday that the restriction on outdoor meetings would be kept in place even when the state of emergency ends on Monday, April 12. “It is better from a medical standpoint to keep the rule that only a maximum of two people (except those from one household0 can meet together inside or outside,” confirmed Arenberger. The statement comes ahead of the planned easing of coronavirus restrictions on Monday, which, for example, includes the possibility for up to 20 people meeting outside and 10 people meeting in inside spaces. The government is due to discuss his proposal on Monday afternoon. The Interdisciplinary Group on Epidemic Situations (MeSES), led by epidemiologist and member of the Government Council Petr Smejkal, pointed out that allowing up to 10 people inside and 20 outside “can be an epidemic risk”. Smejkal considers gatherings restrictions to be one of the most effective measures against the spread of the coronavirus. Protests of sports organizations Sports organizations are unpleasantly surprised by the quick turnaround. The Czech Sports Union (ČUS) calls on the government to mitigate the impact of gatherings restrictions on children and young people. “We call on the Ministry of Health and...
Police officers in Hradec Králové were left stunned after a local man surrendered a pink Soviet T-34 tank and a self-propelled gun as part of the country’s weapon amnesty. “When we filmed a video on gun amnesty and said with exaggeration that [we will accept even a] tank, we didn’t expect it to inspire the people [to do so]. We present some of surrendered [items]: an SD-100 artillery and a T-34-85 tank,” the police said on its Facebook page. But a man from Hradec Kralove region did confess to the police that he owned a Soviet T-34/85 tank and an SD-100 self-propelled artillery gun, which was made in the Czech Republic in accordance with the Soviet designs. The unnamed collector of historic weaponry has been in possession of the hardware since the 1990s. He believed he owned the tank and the artillery platform legally, but wasn’t sure if they had been properly deactivated. The police said that the menacing guns were harmless but still found some inconsistencies in their deactivation with the current rules. The man was given time to fix those issues so that he could keep the military vehicles in his garage. No explanation has been provided...
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has offered a worsening outlook for the Czech economy for this year, with the IMF now expecting growth of 4.2 percent, while last autumn, it expected an increase of 5.1 percent. Slovakia will also perform significantly worse, as the IMF has downgraded its growth outlook for gross domestic product (GDP) for this year to 4.7 percent from the autumn forecast of 6.9 percent. The spring meeting of the IMF and the World Bank (WB) is being held in Washington this week, but only virtually due to the pandemic. The fund’s executive director, Kristalina Georgieva, indicated last week that the IMF was preparing to improve its global outlook, citing large-scale stimulus measures in the United States and continued vaccinations against COVID-19. According to the fund, the global economy will show 6 percent growth this year, while in the autumn, the fund expected growth of 5.2 percent. Among other things, the spring outlook shows that inflation in the Czech Republic will fall this year, but will still be higher than in many other European countries. For example, in Slovakia, which is a member of the eurozone, the fund estimates it at about half the level of Czechia....
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has repeatedly refuted the allegation that he was an agent for the Communist Secret Police back in the 1980s. A discovery by the Slovak National Memory Institute (ÚPN) has presented evidence to the Bratislava regional court that Babiš was indeed an agent of the StB. Babiš has sued the UPN and has also been entangled in lawsuits regarding that matter for the past nine years disputing claims that he was a member of the Communist Secret Police. A statistical card in archives of the UPN shows Babiš was given the designation of “agent” and also the code name “Bureš” as far back as Nov. 11, 1982. The evidence against Babiš is significant as it indicates when he joined the StB as an informant in Bratislava and that he joined on a voluntary basis monitoring employees of foreign trade companies as part of the economic counterintelligence department. Evidence from the institute indicates that Babiš was suspended from cooperation with the Secret Police in 1988 after being away in Morocco on business. The records show that he only returned after the democratic revolution in 1989. Babiš has been accused of enriching himself and his businesses from being...
“A private celebration in a restaurant is still not possible, but a home party with up to ten people wearing face masks could take place from next week,” says at a press conference on Friday the new Minister of Health Petr Arenberger (ANO). “If, for example, you host a party at home, you have a big apartment and you invite ten people, you should wear face masks,” said Arenberger. When asked about celebrations in restaurants, he replied that “restaurants are closed and it would be necessary to wait until the epidemic situation develops in a more favorable way.” The Interdisciplinary Group for Epidemic Situations, led by epidemiologist Petr Smejkal, warns of the risk of organizing at-home parties. “I don’t understand why private parties, celebrations, and similar events should be given higher priority than schools, small businesses, and services,” said Jan Kulveit, Czech senior research scholar at the Future of Humanity Institute, a multidisciplinary research institute at the University of Oxford, in England. However, Arenberger called for people to continue to try to meet as little as possible. “The fact that the state of emergency will cease to apply on Monday does not mean that the virus has also disappeared.” The...
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