Škoda has won a contract for fourteen new electric buses for the Prague Transportation Company. The capital will acquire a fleet of modern environmentally friendly vehicles that do not produce carbon dioxide emissions and thus contribute to cleaner air and a more harmonious environment in the city. The value of the contract, including possible options, is worth up to 207 million crowns, and this will be the first delivery of electric buses carried out by Škoda in cooperation with its Turkish affiliate Temsa. “We will supply vehicles to our capital that do not burden the environment in any way, that operate quietly, and, in addition, have low operating costs, making their operation sustainable in the long run. It will be a new 12-meter completely low-floor bus with comfortable equipment like full-vehicle air conditioning, comfortable seats, a sophisticated information system, and advanced energy management of the entire vehicle fleet,” says Chairman of the Board and President of Škoda Transportation Petr Brzezina. The delivery also includes a possible option for technical support for the future development of other information system and energy management functions (e.g. remote monitoring of consumption or checking battery status) or battery replacements during the projected life of the buses. Škoda...
Even a mild case of COVID-19 can come with some pretty miserable symptoms, including debilitating headaches, extreme fatigue and body aches that make it feel impossible to get comfortable. Numerous Czech workers and citizens have testified about having post-Covid-19 symptoms that have been moderately or severely handicapping their ability to work. This is due to the fact that patients are not completely healthy and recovered even after months of the initial contraction of the virus. Post-Covid-19 symptoms include chronic fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, and persistent loss of smell and taste. Petr Jakubec, a pneumologist from the University Hospital Olomouc, has stated that post-Covid-19 symptoms can last for weeks or sometimes even months. “In other diseases, we are used to patients feeling improvement every day, but unfortunately for Covid-19, recovery is only after weeks, sometimes even months”. Early in 2021, a study in the Lancet showed that 6 months after illness onset, 76% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Wuhan, China, reported at least one symptom that persisted, mostly fatigue or muscle weakness. Evidently, it is essential and recommended to visit a pulmonary doctor, if problems persist. Olomouc Hospital advises patients to rehabilitate slowly, emphasizing the importance of regular, but not brash, movement....
A Czech woman made headlines last week for her role in preventing an armed gunman from robbing a petrol station near Bratislava. She was able to subdue the gunman by performing oral sex on him until the police arrived on the scene. The 36-year-old Czech woman was at the petrol station buying cigarettes when an armed man began pointing a gun at the station clerk and punching him in the face before taking money from the cash register. The clerk was described as having blood covering his face and shirt after the attack. From there the gunman grabbed the Czech woman by the hand and dragged her to the back office believing her to be an employee. The gunman was believed to be speaking Serbian and demanded that she open the safe for him. “He said he would kill me, he wanted money. He repeated it several times,” the woman told Topky.sk. It was at this point that the Czech woman began to flirt with the gunman in an attempt to distract him while the staff called for help. “At that moment, I couldn’t think of anything other than taking off my jacket, sweater and showing him my strengths,” said...
According to the Czech Statistical Office, an average Czech consumes 292 beers, 100 glasses of wine, and 175 shots of hard alcohol annually. Approximately 7,000 people die due to heavy alcohol consumption each year in the Czech Republic. In 2019, there were 4,486 car accidents due to driving under the influence of alcohol, in which 50 people were killed. One in every seven people in the Czech Republic – over 1,000,000 people – consumes a dangerous amount of alcohol. For experts, two drinks per day for men and one daily drink for women is considered risky drinking, which concerns around 1.5 million Czechs, according to their estimates and the consequences exceed 59 billion CZK a year. The amount includes both the financing of treatment for addiction, as well as crimes, traffic accidents and reduced labor productivity. Based on the WHO report, alcohol consumption is the world’s third-largest risk factor for disease and disability; in middle-income countries, it is the greatest risk. Alcohol is a causal factor in 60 types of diseases and injuries and a component cause in 200 others. Almost 4 percent of all deaths worldwide are attributed to alcohol, greater than deaths caused by HIV/AIDS, violence, or tuberculosis. Dry...
The Czech branch of the American company Novavax is only a step away from the launch of the coronavirus vaccine. In late May, Novavax acquired a plant by the small town of Kostelec nad Černými lesy, around 40 kilometres east of Prague. The deal saw Novavax take ownership of a biologics manufacturing facility and ‘associated assets’. “They have started the production of the vaccine, and I know that at the moment it is a question of certificates and approvals,” the Minister of Industry and Trade Havlíček told CNN Prima NEWS. Marketwatch.com portal stated that Novavax is to produce up to one billion batches later this year, and a significant part of it is to fall to the Czech branch Novavax CZ. The Novavax vaccine uses a distinct technology from other already-authorized COVID-19 vaccines. It harnesses insect cells to churn out full-length copies of the spike protein that studs the surface of SARS-COV-2 and enables it to invade host cells. It is the first protein-based COVID-19 vaccine to report out results from a pivotal clinical trial. Like the COVID-19 vaccines authorized so far, it requires two doses. Another company, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, is expected to announce results for a one-dose COVID-19 vaccine...
Czech Television (ČT) presenter Václav Moravec claims that the current Minister of Health, Jan Blatný, will quit and leave his position in 14 days. Moreover, ČT also claims that the current Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Andrej Babiš, will take over the Health Ministry department and that Blatný will be replaced by the former head of Ministry, Roman Prymula. Prymula was the Minister of Health for the duration of a month last year in 2020, however, he has since then resigned after being spotted leaving a restaurant during Covid-19 lockdown. Additionally, ČT claims that Prymula has been attending government meetings in the past weeks. Prime Minister Babiš has publicly denied the information given by ČT, stating that he has no intention of leaving or replacing the current Minister of Health. “It’s all just speculation and gossip on the Václav Moravec show. I suppose he was trying to raise the profile of his show, which is not much talked about anymore”, commented PM Babiš. President of the Chamber of Deputies, Vondráček, has also publicly stated that the show’s claims are all just gossip and rumors and that there has not been any information between government officials claiming that this would...
The ninth annual Dry February, aimed at highlighting the dangers of excessive drinking, begins today in the Czech Republic. The campaign “Dry February Challenge” aimed at encouraging Czech men to abstain from alcohol for the month. The event is organised by the group League of Open Men but is also encouraging women to not drink a drop of alcohol during February. The group has a dedicated website offering tips on exercises and alternative, non-alcoholic drinks, as well as advice from psychologists. The NGO prepared “A survival kit” for the courageous ones who want to join the campaign. Social media is used as a space where people share their experiences. Last year, about 6 percent of Czechs joined the campaign, which is about half a million of the overall population. When the NGO asked 300 participants after the campaign, 90 percent of them stayed away from alcohol throughout the whole month, and more than half of them even through May. The organizers point out that Czechs are among the world’s heaviest drinkers and excessive consumption threatens their health and quality of life. A recent report from OECD shows that the Czech Republic ranks 4th in terms of alcohol consumption. The report used data...
New mortgages in the Czech Republic grew by 34.3% year-on-year in 2020 to a record volume of 217 billion crowns, despite the global coronavirus pandemic’s impact on lending, data from the Czech National Bank showed on Friday. The central bank has been monitoring the mortgage and housing market in recent years as a potential source of inflationary pressures caused by soaring property prices. House prices were 17% overpriced on average, the bank said in November as it warned against risks to both banks and the broader economy. Low interest rates supported the demand for mortgages, as the central bank has kept its main two-week repo rate at 0.25% since last May after it had slashed it by 200 basis points during the first coronavirus wave in spring. The bank also eased some of the limits on mortgage lending in April, like the share of the loan to the property price (loan-to-value, LTV) or the maximum share of payments on the clients’ income (debt-servicing-to-income, DSTI). Overall, new and refinanced mortgages rose by 39.6% year-on-year to 266 billion crowns, the data showed, while household loans added just 0.8% to 264.5 billion crowns.
Czechs are the most distrustful nation in Europe — or perhaps the wisest — when it comes to sharing their data, according to an international survey by the EOS KSI agency. They protect their health data the most and, compared to other European countries, are more reserved about sharing their location, GPS, and movement data. Contact data (44 percent) is one type of data that Czechs are more willing to share with businesses, services, and applications. Almost two-fifths provide their personal information to third parties. The third most commonly shared item is data on shopping behavior and popularity of certain products or brands (37 percent). Only 27 percent of people share location, GPS, and motion data with third parties. Only 10 percent of Czechs share their health data. “Data is, of course, a valuable commercial tool. However, they can often help rescue services to determine the location of the endangered or in contact with an infected person, for example. In addition, sharing financial data can enable companies to better assist indebted clients with loan repayments, as is the case in our sector. Caution is certainly commendable, but people should know the point where secrecy can be detrimental to themselves,“ said...
The Czech Republic will close its borders, including those with Slovakia, for all foreigners at midnight between Friday (January 29) and Saturday (January 30). Until now, trips to the Czech Republic have been ruled by travel traffic lights, both for Czech citizens and arrivals of foreigners. With this new decision, the travel traffic light ceases to apply. Only essential travels will be allowed. This means people working or studying in the Czech Republic, essential travels to family, medical facilities, nursing homes, wedding or funeral, the iDnes.cz website reported. ⚠️ The Czech Goverment decided to ❌ ban all NON-ESSENTIAL TRAVELS to the Czech Republic 🇨🇿, regardless of which country (green, orange or red) you are travelling from. The decision will enter into force at this midnight from Friday to Saturday (30/01/2021 0:00). — Czech MFA (@CzechMFA) January 29, 2021 The ban is part of a series of new restrictive measures that are tightening the country’s lockdown. They have been approved with a goal to further limit people’s contacts and movement. Earlier in January, the day-to-day increase in coronavirus cases in the country was gradually declining since hitting a record high of nearly 18,000 on Jan 6. But the numbers didn’t drop...
Czech scientists are currently utilizing genetic technologies to manipulate hops used in producing beer. Researchers working at the Biological Center of the Academy of Sciences in České Budějovice are using genetic modification tactics like the gene-editing tool CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) to produce newly altered and healthier hops. Back in 2012, the CRISPR method was discovered and used to cut out harmful DNA at precise locations. This method for genetic manipulation involves harnessing the natural ability of bacteria to identify and disable foreign DNA and later be replaced. Since its’ inception the CRISPR method has been used by farmers to produce higher crop yields with higher amounts of disease-resistant nutrients. It also achieves this without the use of chemicals and relies solely on natural bacteria. The method has already worked with tomatoes and wheat for example but has never been done with hops until now. The team has discovered that if they isolate the genes responsible for the production of bitter acids and make targeted changes to increase the amount of bitter acids, the beer will have more medicinal substances. Scientists at the Biological Center of the Academy of Sciences would like to point out that there...
The unused military field hospital in Prague-Letňany will be packed up due to staff shortages even as high numbers of COVID-19 patients stretch Czech health-care facilities to the limits, officials said on Friday. The army erected the field hospital on the outskirts of Prague in October on the site of an exhibition ground and put the facility on standby, equipped to care for as many as 500 COVID-19 patients. “We are unable to roll out the hospital in a way that makes sense,” Deputy Health Minister Vladimir Cerny told a news conference. “If we (do) have staff, it seems to be more purposeful to reinforce standard hospitals than to activate the field hospital.” The 500-bed hospital was constructed by the Czech Army last October, as a hurried response to the rapidly rising number of Covid-19 cases. The state also purchased 4,000 beds from hospital and nursing bed maker LINET. There were 5,856 COVID-19 patients in Czech hospitals as of Thursday, including 970 in intensive care – about 20% below peaks in mid-January. But six of the country’s 14 regions reported zero or single-digit numbers of available intensive care beds. Officials have used ambulances and helicopters to move patients to less...
Don’t have an account? Register
[swpm_registration_form level=”6″]
Already have an account? Log In
How Would You Like to Promote Your Business? PR ArticleDisplay bannersVideo productionNewsletter adsJob ListingsInfluencer Marketing
Your Email
We will come back to you within 24 hours with our proporsal
