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...
Data from the Czech Statistical Office has indicated that the number of tourists visiting Prague last year dropped significantly to 27 percent of 2019’s numbers. The report finds that only 2,178,267 visitors came to Prague last year. The massive drop in tourism is not surprising during a global pandemic where many European countries have restricted movement throughout the European Union. Last summer, however, saw a 16 percent increase from 2019 in domestic tourism as Czechs from other regions flocked to visit the capital in the summer months. The past year saw about 700,000 domestic tourists visiting Prague followed closely by our neighbors from Germany, Poland, and Slovakia. The number of tourists from Russia and the United Kingdom hovered around eight hundred thousand in 2019 but decreased to 200,000 in 2020’s Covid-stricken Prague. Prague City Tourism is a government-funded organization that has successfully executed marketing campaigns like the At Home in Prague campaign which sought to increase domestic tourism during 2020’s restrictions and saw a 16 percent increase from the previous year. PCT chairman František Cipro says the agency is focused on ways to revive the suffering tourism industry. “Since our new strategy includes a greater focus on the domestic market,...
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...
Temperatures are dropping below zero and the inches of mountain snow is slowly increasing. That can only mean one thing – it’s time to start planning your winter break! For most people, winter holidays are associated with skiing. If you are a lover of the white trails, downhill or alpine skiing, the Czech Republic is where you will definitely have an abundance of all to choose from – more than 600 km of downhill trails, not to mention a number of cross-country trails. If you want to combine your winter sports activities with exploring the beauties of the Czech Republic, we’ve got a great tip for you – which is a winter holiday in a caravan! Imagine: You wake up every morning with a new beautiful view and, if you are not satisfied with the skiing conditions in a particular location, you can simply go elsewhere! In the Czech Republic, you can also take advantage of the short distances between ski resorts which is a big time-saver. In addition to your flexibility, safety is a major advantage of caravan travels. Inside the caravan, you can spend time in a safe bubble only with your family and if you don’t want...
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...
The Czech government re-declared a state of emergency for two weeks to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. The decision comes in defiance of the lower house of Parliament, which has refused the minority government’s request to extend the powerful tool that gives the Cabinet the extra powers needed to impose nationwide restrictions and limit people’s travel and rights. Despite the dire situation, some lawyers and politicians, including Milos Vystrcil, the Senate speaker, say the government’s move violates the country’s Constitution. The government denies that, saying its legal advisers support such a solution. “I’m really glad that common sense has won,” the country’s prime minister Andrej Babiš said. The current state of emergency would have expired on Sunday. The government could use other legal options to reimpose some coronavirus restrictions but not all of them. Without the state of emergency, service businesses could resume, the nighttime curfew would end and a ban on more than two people gathering in public would be cancelled. “We can’t afford that to happen,” Babiš said. The government warned that the restrictions are needed to keep the country’s outbreak from getting worse and causing the health system to collapse. Sunday’s move comes at the request of the...
In today’s open letter to the government, the Speaker of the Senate Miloš Vystrčil (ODS) says that reinstating a state of emergency in the country against the will of the lower house would be unconstitutional. According to him, this also applies to the case where the governors request a state of emergency. After today’s meeting with the government, the regional governors asked the cabinet to declare a new state of emergency for 14 more days. The current state of emergency will end at midnight today. The governor of the Moravia-Silesia region Ivo Vondrák said the decision had been unanimous. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš added the government will comply with the request. “If the Chamber of Deputies cancels the state of emergency or vote against its extension, the government may not immediately decide to declare a new state of emergency. In such a case, the government would effectively negate the role of the Chamber of Deputies,” said Vystrčil. Constitutional lawyers are divided over the matter. Without the state of emergency, the government cannot impose a curfew, which is currently in effect between 9 pm and 5 am. Deputy Prime Minister Jan Hamáček (CSSD) warned that: “It would bring about the loosening...
The regional governors agreed to extend the state of emergency for 14 more days. Interior Minister Jan Hamáček (CSSD) said that the priority will be the return of children to school. “Today we agreed that all governors will ask for a state of emergency. At the moment, it is the only way to manage the crisis situation in our country,” said the Moravian-Silesian Governor Ivo Vondrák (ANO). The current state of emergency expires on Sunday, February 14. In the morning, the governors discussed the conditions under which they would request the declaration of a new state of emergency with the Minister of Health, Jan Blatný (ANO). The South Bohemian governor and chairman of the Association of Regions Martin Kuba (ODS) stated that “the governors are asking the children to return to school on March 1.” The governor of Pardubice Martin Netolický remarked that the regions require the government to communicate to the public a plan for the coming days and weeks regarding the release of certain measures. “We want to have a clear timetable for gradual release at further negotiations. We also require self-testing in companies and large employers.” The governors want regular meetings every ten days of the association...
Husqvarna Urban Green Space Index (HUGSI) has named Lithuanian capital Vilnius the greenest city in Europe. Prague ranks 9th. By applying computer vision and deep learning techniques on satellite images, HUGSI unveiled that 56% of Prague territory is greenery and by this measure, the city ranks 13th in the world. HUGSI-index was announced for the second year running. In total, satellite images of 155 cities across 60 different countries were analyzed in order to evaluate their greenness and provide valuable insights about the size, proportion, distribution, and health of green space in urban areas. The research revealed that 28% of all Prague territory consists of trees, and 27% of grass areas. HUGSI is a digital innovation initiative developed by Husqvarna in collaboration with 20tree.ai. The ambition is to help safeguard and improve the maintenance of green spaces in urban areas. Husquarna created HUGSI to raise awareness about the value of urban green space among citizens, support city officials and politicians to make data-informed decisions, and facilitate the collaboration across industries and organizations to together make a “smart and sustainable city” a reality. “Since last year we have received a lot of interest and enquires about HUGSI and this year we...
The Czech Republic is in talks with AstraZeneca to secure COVID-19 vaccine supplies on top of the three million doses reserved for the country under an EU deal, news website Seznam Zpravy reported on Saturday. Citing a Health Ministry spokeswoman, the report said the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker had offered the country further deliveries of its vaccine, and that the ongoing talks were about details such as the number of doses, price, and delivery dates. The European Commission, the European Union’s executive, has signed supply deals with vaccine makers for doses to be distributed on a pro-rata basis to member states, which have committed not to hold parallel talks. Saturday’s Seznam Zpravy report said the Health Ministry still had to verify to what extent bilateral deals were in line with the EU deal. The number of newly registered Covid cases reached 8,782 on Friday, roughly 160 more than on the same day a week ago. The Covid-related death toll crossed the 18,000 mark on Friday. AstraZeneca is scrambling to find more manufacturers to produce its coronavirus vaccine in Europe after the drugmaker’s bet on a limited number of sites fell short. By the end of January, only one continental plant — located...
Race organizer RunCzech with adidas celebrates love this year a bit differently. They teamed up with Salvation Army and will give love to others. We would all run thousands of miles for love. Love means running with others and thinking about them every step of the way. Share the little things and remember even those who, for example, was not so lucky with love. Therefore RunCzech and adidas in cooperation with the Salvation Army come with the opportunity to share a little love with others. By purchasing Nocleženka coupon, you will support a specific homeless person and we will reward you with a -42% discount on adidas products. Because you have to be well equipped to run for love. How does Nocleženka work? By purchasing NOCLEŽENKA at the RunCzech e-shop worth CZK 100, you will support a specific homeless person who will be able to spend a night in the heat of a Salvation Army dormitory thanks to your gift. However, it is not just about sleeping, a homeless person is also provided with soup with pastries, a hot drink and has the opportunity to take a shower and perform personal hygiene. How do I receive a discount code on adidas...
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