The Czech authorities recorded 506 new coronavirus cases on Friday, the highest number of new infections in one day since the outbreak began.
For the first time in many years, the Prague City Hall will not welcome next year with fireworks or video mapping. COVID-19 has impacted cities and countries all around the world, and on Friday afternoon, Prague councilors said the city is facing a huge revenue shortfall because of it. In the past years, Prague traditionally welcomed the new year on January 1 with fireworks, but this year the main event was replaced by a video mapping, as the noise could disturb both pets and wild animals. “The City Hall is currently trying to use the money effectively to cope with the economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic and to support citizens, seniors, entrepreneurs, tourism, services and other businesses,” states the official document. This year’s video mapping at the National Museum cost almost CZK 2 million. The city can now use that amount of money for other purposes that will help Prague and its inhabitants to deal with the economic effects of the crisis. However, not all residents of Prague were delighted with the decision to stop the traditional firework display. On January 1, besides the official projection mapping, the people of Prague could also watch smaller firework shows, which were...
The Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recommended Slovak citizens reconsider traveling to some regions within countries that are otherwise safe for travel when it comes to the epidemiological situation, including the Czech capital of Prague along with some areas of Croatia and France. If people still must go to these areas, they should continuously monitor the situation and follow the recommendations of epidemiologists. Some Dutch, Irish, Polish and British regions and the whole of Malta and Spain have previously been included on the list to which this recommendation applies. The whole of Belgium, Prague, two Croatian counties, one Danish and one Estonian region, and three French regions have also been recently added. In Slovakia, 2,922 cases of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection have been confirmed so far with 31 deaths related to COVID-19. Prague has already entered the “orange” zone in Belgium, which recommended quarantine for its citizens returning from Prague at the end of July. The Czech capital and the Frýdek-Místek district continue to be the only regions that are marked in green on the “traffic light“ map of the Ministry of Health, signaling the occurrence of the disease without transmitting the disease in the community. Other regions of the...
In the period August 1 to 16, Croatia generated 1.8 million tourist arrivals and 12.9 million bed nights which is almost 70% of the bed night generated in the same period last year, the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) informed on Monday. Adding that this is the height of the summer season HTZ Director Kristjan Stanicic underlined that the period ahead is important for the tourist trade and that it is necessary to maintain continuity and presence on the market, particularly in the context of positioning Croatia as a year-round destination. “Announcements for the rest of August and for September are good, however, it is extremely important to continue acting responsibly and to adhere to the recommended epidemiological measures as that is the fundamental preconditions to achieve tourist turnover,” said Stanicic. Of the total number of bed night in the first 16 days in August this year, 3.2 million were in Istria, followed by 2.6 million beds in the Kvarner (a wider Rijeka) region, 2.4 million in Split-Dalmatia County and 2.3 million in Zadar County. Sibenik-Knin County saw one million bed nights while Dubrovnik-Neretva county generated 716,000 bed nights and Lika-Senj County with 475,000. Germany accounts for the largest number of tourists in this...
Wearing face masks in schools will not be mandatory from 1 September. This was stated by the Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch (ANO) at today’s press conference. The obligation will depend on the epidemiological situation. “We debated the issue of schools and the obligation for children to wear the face mask. We are able to solve it just with the traffic light system,” said Vojtěch. The new so-called traffic light system will indicate the level of risk per district, and advise district officials on which measures are recommended at which level. “Schools would close if their districts were designated “red”, indicating a high degree of coronavirus risk,” added Vojtěch. The red level will be activated if the number of cases among over-65s increases by more than 50% week-on-week, or the hospitalization rate exceeds 2%. Face masks will be mandatory only where an “orange light” appears at the traffic light. According to the Minister of Education Robert Plaga, updates will be published every Friday. Wearing face masks will also not be needed also in restaurants, shops, hairdressers, fitness centers. Face masks will continue to be mandatory in public transport, offices, public administration offices, polling stations, social and medical facilities. On Monday,...
If the bus was free, would you take it more often? That’s the question at the heart of the discussion around fare-free public transport. Příbram (Central Bohemia) is considering making public transport free, to solve the problem with parking in the center. “We are now very strongly considering this option. We want to have a debate on this topic not only in the council, but also with transport experts, citizens, and representatives of the non-profit sector,” says Deputy Mayor Martin Buršík. “We have been working for a long time to improve parking in the city. In recent years, several hundred new parking spaces have been created in Příbram, and other car parks are planned. In the city center, however, there are not many opportunities to expand parking,” added Buršík. “We have modern buses, one of the densest public transport networks compared to similar cities in the Czech Republic, and fares that are definitely at an acceptable price. Nevertheless, the center is still full of cars.” Opponents of free fare transport policy frequently point to its high financial costs which, in their view, outweighs its impact. According to preliminary calculations, free public transport shouldn’t affect significantly the city’s budget. “It will...
The construction of a footbridge for pedestrians and cyclists, which will connect Holešovice and Karlín across the island of Štvanice, will begin next year. The construction should be completed in 2022 and the costs should be around CZK 200 million. “The footbridge is now in the permitting process, this year or at the latest next spring it should have a building permit,” said the director of the Municipal Institute of Planning and Development (IPR) Ondřej Boháč. The footbridge was designed by architect Marek Blank. The concept of the bridge is based upon sweeping arches that gracefully skip across the Vltava river like a stone cast by hand. The deck is designed to separate the cyclist traffic from the pedestrians by a subtle difference in height. This provides a safety feature for both cyclists and pedestrians while allowing cyclists to confidently ride without the fear of a collision. Reversely it allows pedestrians a safe zone where no cyclists can impede upon. At the Štvanice ramp, the cyclist path levels off with the pedestrian path and serves as an intersection to allow everyone to safely get on and off the island. A textured paving surface will be used in this area and...
The 17th edition of the Letní Letná International Festival of Contemporary Circus and Theatre began on Tuesday 18 August. “We cooperate with the Prague hygiene station and follow the recommendations of experts. Based on a government decision, we have reduced the capacity of the circus tent to 500 people, where it will also be obligatory to have the nose and mouth covered with a mask,” says Jiří Turek, director of the Letní Letná festival. Other measures are communicated by the organizers on the festival website. The foreign ensemble – Galapiat Cirque from France – returns to Letní Letná after eight years. And straight with a world premiere. The domestic audience will be the first to see the novelty L’âne et la carrote, i.e. Donkey and Carrot. “Using a series of numbers, one man tells his story of a circus artist. Thanks to his faithful helper, he realizes that if you want to change the world, you must start by changing yourself,” describes the festival director Jiří Turek the upcoming performance the pre-premiere of which he saw in France before the outbreak of the pandemic. The premiere of the documentary Skywalk over Prague will be a reminder of the unprecedented opening of...
Grand finale of the summer challenge Česko běží dál will take place on the first weekend in September. You can choose from several courses, including a family-run and there will also be a race for the little ones. The unique running challenge organized by RunCzech started in June and will end on Sunday, September 6. The challenge “Česko běží dál” (Czech Republic keeps on running) has been a unique way of getting runners all across the country to compete at various distances from 5K through 125K, not virtually but on real courses – a new kind of mixed reality. The main challenge was to run a total of 125 kilometers whenever you’re able, on any of the 5K FreeRun courses over a period of 90 days. People could also choose to run distances from 5 to 40 km. The foundation for this project was laid a few years ago when RunCzech created the FreeRun program – a community service project that aims to make running more accessible and more fun for more people. 90 running courses, each 5K long and certified by the Czech Athletics Federation were created to crisscross the entire country. All of them extremely comfortable for runners,...
ShanghaiRanking Consultancy has published the 2020 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), listing the top 1000 institutions globally – featuring 7 from the Czech Republic. Starting from 2003, ARWU has been presenting the world top universities annually based on a set of objective indicators and third-party data. ARWU has been recognized as the precursor of global university rankings and the most trustworthy league table. ARWU adopts six objective indicators to rank world universities, including the number of alumni and staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals, the number of articles published in journals of Nature and Science, the number of Highly Cited Researchers and articles indexed in Science Citation Index – Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index based on data in the Web of Science, and per capita performance. More than 2000 universities are ranked by ARWU every year and the best 1000 universities are published. Charles University fared best, ranking between the shared 201 to 300 spots. Other Czech institutions that made it onto the list are the Palacký University in Olomouc (501-600), the Masaryk University in Brno (601-700), the Czeh Technical University in Prague (701-800), the Czech University of Life Sciences (801-900) and the University of Chemistry and Technology...
The European Union’s border restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic has left binational unmarried couples in limbo, but more European countries are making exceptions so those couples no longer have to remain separated. Since March, European countries have shut their borders to noncitizens, essentially separating citizens of the EU from their foreign partners. Last week, the European Commission asked all 27 member countries to open their borders to such couples, and so far 10 have done so. A social media campaign with the hashtags #LoveIsNotTourism and #LoveIsEssential has been pushing other EU countries to act. Requirements vary among 10 countries that have made the exception for binational unmarried couples; some require documents that prove the existence of the relationship, and others basically take the couple’s word without supporting documentation. Some countries require quarantine or a COVID-19 test. The Czech government has announced on their website that they are allowing partners to enter under certain circumstances. Here is an excerpt from the announcement. “These are, for example, Czech-American couples. From next week, Czechs will be able to invite their partners from abroad, from countries outside the EU, to the Czech Republic to see each other after a few months. This will require a solemn declaration confirming the long-term relationship...
This week belongs to acrobacy as Letní Letná – a festival of contemporary Czech circus scene is taking place in Letenské sady. This year there will be a light version of this traditional summer event but you will definitely enjoy it. August 18 – August 25 Letní Letná light: International shows, Czech circus scene festival. Includes also programs for children. Where: Letenské sady August 20 Brasilian Samba party at Manifesto market Smíchov When: 5p.m. – 10 p.m. August 20 Multilingual Poetry open stage in park Grébovka. Poetry by all and for all. When: 8p.m. – midnight August 21 Cimbálovka – a traditional Moravian music performance at Lucerna rooftop When: 5p.m. – 11p.m. August 22 Winefest at Náplavka “Vinaři na Náplavce”. Come to taste Czech wine and “burčák” – a fermented young wine. When: 11a.m. – 9p.m. Where: Smíchovská Náplavka August 23 Guided tour of Hradčany When: 10a.m. – noon Where: Meeting point: tram stop Pohořelec Follow Expatsbuddy on Instagram for more useful tips in Prague!
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