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,...
The Czech lower house on Wednesday approved giving the government an extension of state of emergency powers to December 23, a shorter period than the cabinet sought as it looks to contain rising COVID-19 infections. Daily COVID-19 case tallies are increasing again in the central European country that was among the worst hit in Europe in the autumn. The uptick comes just a week after the government eased some of its restrictions, allowing shops and restaurants to open their doors for the first time since October. The state of emergency is the legal basis for some government measures being used to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, such as limits on assembly or temporarily shutting businesses. PM Andrej Babis’ government had asked for a 30-day extension beyond the current period’s expiry on Dec. 12. A shorter extension put forward by the far-left Communist party, which props up Babis’ minority government, won enough votes. Infections have steadily increased, with the seven-day rolling average rising in the past week. Hospitalisations are above 4,300, also ticking up after steadily falling from a peak of more than 8,000 in early November. Health officials reported 5,848 new infections on Tuesday, the highest since November...
Lots of holiday shoppers are buying gifts online to avoid the crowds this year, but what about buying a Christmas tree from the web? If you want to fill your home with a Christmas tree this year without having to push in queues and unnecessarily expose yourself to the risk of infection, you can visit chcistromek.cz. The site allows you to choose your dream tree from the comfort and safety of your home and have it delivered to your door anywhere in Prague. There’s an option to add goodies to your order, which will help fulfill the Christmas wishes of children from children’s homes. On their website, you will find a wide selection of premium Normandy fir trees from a family farm in Denmark, which are each carefully photographed and have their own name. A novel idea, but in a way magical. After all, Christmas should be full of stories. “It’s funny that some customers are buying trees according to the names of their partners or children because they also receive a kind of birth certificate of the tree with the name from us,” says one of Chcistromek’s representatives. Thanks to the cooperation with the non-profit organization Radost dětem, you...
“You still don’t know what to give for Christmas? As a present, a government bond will not only please the recipient but also value your savings.” The Minister of Finance has shared a video with a bizarre recommendation on her Facebook and Twitter accounts. “Christmas is just around the corner, so many of you are thinking about what to put under the tree for your loved ones. If you don’t know yet, I have a tip for you. And don’t worry, it’s not socks, but a bond of the Czech Republic,” she says in the video. At the same time, she advised against using this as a romantic gift: “Gentlemen, I would rather recommend something more personal for your dear halves,” she addressed Czech men. “Bonds are more suitable for parents or friends,” she added. According to the official website of the ministry, accumulative government bonds for 100,000 CZK will bring their owner 6151 CZK in six years
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) expects the Czech economic recovery to be slow and to reach pre-crisis levels by the end of 2022, stated the Secretary-General Ángel Gurría during a regular presentation evaluating the Czech economy. In early December, the OECD said that the Czech economy would fall by 6.8 percent this year due to the spread of coronavirus. Next year, gross domestic product (GDP) should increase by 1.5 percent, and in 2022 its growth should accelerate to 3.3 percent. In the September forecast, the Czech Ministry of Finance expected economic growth of 3.9 percent next year. In the November forecast, the Czech National Bank expects the economy to decline by 7.2 percent this year and to grow by 1.7 percent next year. According to the National Bank, the performance of the Czech economy will not reach the pre-crisis level even at the end of 2022. The OECD expects both unemployment and the number of failing companies to rise gradually. The government should thus continue to support the economy until its full recovery. “The crisis has interrupted the period of strong economic growth in the Czech Republic and approaching the average level of OECD countries. After effectively...
The Czech Republic will not raise its PES score despite the number of new COVID-19 cases slowly growing again, which would lead to the reintroduction of some countermeasures. The only changes that the Czech Republic will see as a result of the epidemiological situation getting worse, are the restrictions on opening hours of restaurants as well as some other minor measures. Food caterings Restaurants, bars, clubs, restaurants in hotels, and similar establishments, including dispensing windows, must not be open after 8 pm. Alcohol The consumption of alcohol in public will be banned, as well as the sale of alcohol at markets. Shops and services For shops and services, nothing will change. The night curfew will not be renewed either, even though the last three days the score in the anti-epidemic system PES reached the fourth level. A proposed amendment to the crisis law envisages raising the fine for individuals from 10 to 50,000 CZK and setting a ceiling of 3 million for legal entities. The government decided to extend the state of emergency by a further 30 days, to January 11th. The request will be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies for approval. The cabinet will also discuss measures needed to open ski resorts this month....
Europe’s first ‘beer hotel’ will open early next year in the Czech Republic. The hotel in Nepomuk (Plzeň Region) features a beer tap in each room and a beer spa, where you can submerge yourself in baths of beer. This is the second of its kind, with the first one opening in Ohio, USA. The idea was pursued by the head of the Zlatá kráva brewery, Radovan Sochor, who also runs the hotel which operates above the beer cellars. “When inventing the name of our brewery, we were inspired by the farm that our family owns and where we raise cattle,” says Sochor. “The concept of the entire hotel, which combines farm and beer themes, is in a similar spirit. It has fourteen rooms and each of them is named after one of the beers in our menu. And all rooms have their own bar.” The Sochor family built this beer hotel for about ten million CZK in the building of a former brewery, which operated from 1870 to 1932. They received a 45 per cent subsidy from the Ministry of Agriculture for agritourism and business development. The official opening is planned on February 1. “Vouchers have already being bought,” said...
A hotel in central Prague is preparing to battle insurance company Generali Česká pojišťovna who has refused to honour their insurance policy. Well-known real estate developer Jean-Francois Ott signed a new comprehensive insurance for Hotel Smetana back in November 2019 including a separate policy covering business interruption, which he assumed, back in March, when the government closed all hotels to halt the spread of coronavirus would be covered by the insurance company. Now, Generali is claiming that Covid is not a valid insurance claim. In addition to refusing to pay the money for the claim, the insurer also terminated the hotel’s half-year-old contract. Generali offered them a new one for the same price however with less coverage, but only on the condition that the clauses from the policy, the hotel claimed, will be removed in the new policy. The feud is now likely to be settled in court. Hotel manager Stefan Radstrom said that one of the reasons they chose Generali was that it was the only one that accepted interruption insurance in the contract, which covers risks not caused by the hotel management. He continued: “Our intention from the beginning was to protect ourselves from events that interrupt business...
The Ministry of Finance and the Czech National Bank will recommend to the government not to set a date for the adoption of the euro. The decision is based on information contained in this year’s “Assessment of the Fulfilment of the Maastricht Convergence Criteria and the Degree of Economic Alignment of the Czech Republic with the Euro Area”. It is the same advice the two institutions gave the government in the past years. The government of PM Andrej Babis (ANO) had indicated that it was not planning to adopt the euro currency during the current mandate. This year’s document states that the Czech Republic will this year most probably fulfill only one of the Maastricht convergence criteria – the criterion on long-term interest rates – in the unprecedented conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related global economic downturn. The Czech Republic will not meet the criterion of sustainability of public finances due to the public finance deficit. It should exceed six percent of GDP. The reason is the effects of the pandemic and the related increase in this year’s budget deficit to 500 billion CZK. Moreover, the country report one of the highest inflation rates in the EU and...
The United Kingdom has become the first country in the world to administer the new Covid-19 vaccine developed jointly by the American drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. Hundreds of thousands of vials of the vaccine, manufactured at plants in Europe, were shipped through the Channel Tunnel over the weekend in special containers that keep the jabs at ultra-low temperatures. The first 800,000 doses are going to people over 80 who are either hospitalized or already have outpatient appointments scheduled, along with nursing home workers. Others will have to wait their turn. The vaccine needs to be injected into a patient’s shoulder twice over a three-week period. The manufacturers said patients should only experience mild side effects after receiving the injection, and they should usually last for a day or so. Britain has ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine, just enough for about a third of the population as two shots of the drug are needed per person to gain immunity. On Saturday, Russia began vaccinating thousands of doctors, teachers and others at dozens of centers in Moscow with its Sputnik V vaccine. That program is being viewed differently because Russia authorized use of the shot last summer after it was tested...
The Czech government on Monday evening decided to shorten the opening hours of restaurants, bars, and dispensing windows in response to the increasing COVID-19 cases. As iDNES.cz reports, starting from Wednesday, December 9th, restaurants, bars, and dispensing windows throughout the country must close at 8 p.m, said Health Minister Jan Blatný. However, there are no plans to tighten measures in the coming days, he added. On Monday, the government decided to extend the state of emergency for another 30 days. According to the minister, the dispensing windows should be closed along with the restaurant. “Even though the ban on sales and consumption was in place, some restaurants sold alcohol and people consumed it,” the minister explained. Deputy Prime Minister Jan Hamáček does not expect the cabinet to further tighten measures against the spread of coronavirus. “If the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise, the government would have just to adjust the measures.” Hamáček added that Thursday’s loosening has so far been too short to affect the epidemic’s statistics. “If the numbers are growing, it’s a reaction to something that happened 10 or 14 days ago,” he said. Since last Thursday, when shops and restaurants reopened, the PES risk score...
Has there ever been a better time to learn new skills and pick up new hobbies? Cooking allows you to not only maximize the ingredients you’ve stocked up in your kitchen but also helps diversify your meals so that you’re not just eating the same dish every night. Pocha Restaurant in Prague will offer a free online cooking workshop on December 12th. You will get a free meal kit and cook together with the chef online through zoom. “We want to encourage other communities in Prague that are also spreading the Korean culture here in the Czech Republic, to participate in the event – we would like them to give a small introduction of themselves during the online cooking class,” says one of Pocha owners. “Our initial plan was to do a one-to-one cooking class but due to the pandemic situation, we had to change the event into an online cooking class. The cooking class will be held in four different time frames. From 11 am-12 pm Jaeyuk bokkeum, 1 pm-2 pm Bulgogi, from 3 pm to 4 pm a vegetable pancake, from 5 pm to 6 pm Bibimbap.” The event is hosted by the Korean Embassy and the Korean...
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