Prague’s District 6 council used a crane Friday to implement its decision last September to remove a statue of Ivan Stepanovic Konev, a World War II commander, whose statue was erected in 1980. The news is reported by iDNES. The statue was replaced by a (temporary) red bust of Josef Stalin wearing a black face mask. The reason why Stalin’s bust has a face mask is probably connected to Prague 6 Mayor’s statement, following the removal of Marshal Konev statue: “He was not wearing a face mask. The rules are the same for everyone,” wrote Ondřej Kolář on Facebook on Friday. “Konev has been toppled, but Konev will stand again — only in the museum,” he added. Czech President Milos Zeman slammed the statute’s removal, accusing Kolar’s council of abusing the current coronavirus crisis, according to a presidential spokesperson. The Russian Embassy in Prague sent an official note to the Czech Foreign Ministry saying that “the dismantlement of the statue will not be left without the Russian side’s appropriate response.” Last August, the statue was covered in red paint by unnamed vandals. Prague city hall then covered up the statue, but pro-Konev protesters tore down the tarp and held a...
Face masks could help limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to researchers who studied the effect of surgical masks on the transmission of other corona and flu viruses. In the study, the use of surgical masks by sufferers significantly reduced the number of flu viruses detectable in droplets released through breathing and coughing. It also reduced the number of seasonal coronaviruses – among the causes of common colds – detectable in the air as suspended microdroplets, or aerosols. The study did not look at the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. “Further research is needed to determine whether masks can specifically prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV-2,” the scientists said. The research, published in the journal Nature, coincides with the pandemic of COVID-19 respiratory disease, which has infected more than a million people worldwide and killed more than 53,000. Benjamin Cowling, the professor who led the study at the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for infectious disease epidemiology in Hong Kong, said its findings could be extrapolated to simpler cotton masks. “My expert view is that cloth or cotton masks would have an effect, but maybe slightly less of an effect than a surgical mask properly worn,” he said in a...
The Czech Republic’s decision to implement mandatory face masks for all citizens is starting to catch on, with a public relations campaign promoting the policy for other countries holding the potential to save thousands of lives. Just a week ago, Czech author Petr Ludwig and actress Aneta Kernová posted a video on Youtube titled “How to Significantly Slow Coronavirus?” In the video, Kernová encourages other countries to introduce mandatory use of face masks in public spaces, just like the Czech Republic did to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Since then, the three-and-half-minute-long video has gained the attention of several international media outlets, including CNN. It has also been watched over four and a half million times on Youtube. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš also boosted the video after sharing it on his Twitter. In the post addressed to the U.S. President Donald Trump, Babiš encouraged Trump to make wearing face masks in public mandatory and attached the video, which uses the hashtag #Masks4All. The Czech Republic was the first European country to make it mandatory for all citizens to wear face masks in public, a policy that raised some skepticism, especially after some health authorities questioned the effectiveness of face masks...
The questions over the long-lasting impact of the coronavirus on daily life and the global economy have taken center stage in recent weeks, but for small business owners — the grim reality of this lockdown is already here. Coronavirus has brought the booming service industry in Prague to a grinding halt, with restaurants and bars forced to close. As a result, businesses have had to try and adapt in order to make sure there are doors left to reopen when the restrictions finally lift. Many restaurants are now offering takeout as well as delivery menus on services like DameJidlo or Wolt. Bars owners are facing a slightly different challenge — how do we adapt when our main value is directly tied to our communities and environment? “People pay more for beers in bars than they do in shops, but it’s for the entire experience,” says Bar No. 7 owner Tommy Poole. “You go out to a bar to meet people, make new friends, and have a good time. It’s harder to convince people to buy a drink from me when there’s no social interaction.” Bar No.7 is a cozy, well-known bar in Prague that has been in operation for nearly...
With regard to the current market situation, it is obvious that the solvency of entrepreneurs and private individuals may be soon significantly affected. Therefore, the government has decided to take several new measures to ensure protection against the inability to repay loans and mortgages, as well as protection of apartment tenants. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF INSTALMENTS According to the proposal of the Ministry of Finance, recently approved by the government, instalments of interest and principal will be temporarily suspended with the exception for corporate loans (where only principal instalments will be suspended, instalments of interest shall remain intact). Banks will not charge fees for such suspension. According to the proposal, it will be possible to postpone instalments of both consumer and business loans (including mortgages) that were concluded and drawn before March 26, 2020. Mortgage instalments may also be postponed in case that the contract was concluded before March 26, 2020, but the funds were drawn after. Clients will be able to choose between the postponement of instalments for three or six months. If the client decides to postpone the instalments, the repayment period of the loan will be prolonged by the suspended period. However, according to information given by the...
Prague authorities on Friday said they had removed a controversial Soviet-era statue, despite protests from Moscow, to make way for a World War II memorial. The news is reported by CT24. Prague 6 says it will now put the statue into storage after which it will be eventually moved into the capital’s planned Museum of the 20th Century. Konev is regarded as a hero in Russia for retaking much of Eastern Europe from Nazi German forces during World War II. But many Czechs view him as an enforcer of Soviet rule after the war. He led Red Army troops that liberated Prague from the Nazis in 1945, but he was also in charge of Operation Whirlwind, which crushed the anti-Soviet Hungarian Uprising of 1956. The Russian Embassy in Prague sent an official note to the Czech Foreign Ministry saying that “the dismantlement of the statue will not be left without the Russian side’s appropriate response.” Last August, the statue was covered in red paint by unnamed vandals. Prague city hall then covered up the statue, but pro-Konev protesters tore down the tarp and held a rally in its support. The monument was similarly abused many times before. Marshal Kove statue...
Workers cleaned the Naplavka embankment along the Vltava River in Prague with disinfectant spray in an attempt to protect people visiting the area from contracting the virus. Officials say they are using a liquid that consists of active oxygen which disinfects nearly 100 percent of the surfaces it comes in contact with and is not harmful to the environment. “There are a lot of people who are coming here who are touching the items here. So, that is the reason why we need to have it clean,” said Jan Chabr, a Deputy Mayor of Prague. The city is also disinfecting high traffic areas including; public squares, bus stations, and the common areas around city housing. The Prague Public Transport Company has also intensified the cleaning of public transport vehicles in recent days due to the risk of coronavirus. The new technology is designed to protect passengers for up to two years. The Prague Public Transport Company will verify its effectiveness every six months in ten randomly selected trams, buses, and metro cars. “If the supplier fails to comply with his declarations in effect, we will require repeated disinfection of the cars at their expense,” said Petr Witowski, CEO of Prague...
"We lost the dispute, but that is not important. What is important is that we do not have to pay something. Usually, the court claims some compensation for the proceedings," said Babiš.
The coronavirus outbreak has reached nearly every corner of the world, causing billions of people to shelter in place and put a halt on their daily activities. But animals have taken this disruption as an opportunity to explore. From California to Japan, these photos show wild animals roaming the empty streets and searching for food uninterrupted. #puma Maravilloso pic.twitter.com/1HC24DrVnQ — MegafonoPopular® (@MegafonoPopular) March 24, 2020 On a positive note, at least nature is returning to our cities. This is from Bergamo, Italy… pic.twitter.com/VvUUPt3WZg — Robert Woodshaw (@robertwoodshaw) March 30, 2020 With little traffic out this afternoon, a few geese had plenty of room to go for a nice stroll down Las Vegas Boulevard. Thanks to Eric Foemmel for sharing this video! pic.twitter.com/adV3EbuU5i — FOX5 Las Vegas (@FOX5Vegas) April 1, 2020 Spotted Malabar civet… A critically endangered mammal not seen until 1990 resurfaces for the first time in India during lockdown. pic.twitter.com/JX18O9r4zn — Nature & Animals ? (@AnimalsWorId) March 27, 2020 pic.twitter.com/xaD7IWmfnV — Ana Raventós (@a2z75) March 19, 2020
Jan Hamáček, Interior Minister and head of the country’s Central Crisis Staff and Jana Maláčová, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, were photographed at a meeting in the Central Crisis Headquarters, not wearing protective face masks. After the photographs were shared widely on social networks, the two ministers decided to make a charitable donation. “I won’t justify myself; the rules are the same for everyone. It was a mistake. I already sent 10,000 CZK to Motol hospital,” said Hamáček. Under the new emergency rules – people standing in a public without a mask face a fine of up to 10,000 CZK. If the police decide to pass a case to the Municipality for Administrative Proceedings, the fine can rise to 20,000 CZK. A third person in the photo, also not wearing a face mask is Jana Maláčová’s husband, Aleš Chmelař, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for European Affairs. “Together with my husband, we repent and both of us sent 10,000 CZK to the account of the Život 90 charitable organization,” said Maláčová. Na twitteru se dnes objevila fotografie z videokonference, kde nemám roušku. Nebudu se vymlouvat, byla to chyba, pravidla platí pro každého. Odeslal jsem 10 tisíc korun jako dar...
When face masks stocks began running low in the Czech Republic, minority communities, including the country’s Roma population, were quick to respond, rallying to make fresh supplies, with the aim of slowing the spread of COVID-19. “They said the face masks were desperately needed, and I did not hesitate, says Klara Pulova, from Tanvald, a small town in the north of the country. I have been a sewing professional in the past, I know the job.” However, it soon became clear that there were not enough masks for essential workers, such as health professionals, the police, and the fire brigade. Within 24 hours, a grassroots initiative, the “face mask movement”, sprang up, with people dusting off old sewing machines and putting them to use, spurred on by social media groups and websites. In Tanvald, Ms. Pulova’s former colleagues provided her with a sewing machine, and friends and other people provided the material: although non-essential shops had been ordered to close as part of the government shutdown, an exception was soon made for stores selling materials needed for textile face masks. The Roma community is not the only Czech minority group taking up the challenge. Refugees, migrants and minorities have also...
Google will publish location data from its users around the world from Friday to allow governments to gauge the effectiveness of social distancing measures put in place to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the tech giant said. The COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports website will show population data trends of six categories: Retail and recreation, grocery and pharmacy, parks, transit stations, workplaces, and residential. The data will track changes over the course of several weeks, and as recent as 48-to-72 hours prior, and will initially cover 131 countries as well as individual counties within certain states. Google says the data will be collected in aggregate, rather than at an individual level, and it won’t show absolute numbers of people showing up at parks or grocery stores. The idea instead is to outline percentages, which highlight potential surges in attendance Infectious disease specialists have said analyzing travel across groups by age, income and other demographics could help shape public service announcements. Trends will display “a percentage point increase or decrease in visits” to locations like parks, shops, homes and places of work, not “the absolute number of visits,” said the post, signed by Jen Fitzpatrick, who leads Google Maps, and the company’s chief health officer Karen...
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
