Reliable Government Sources of Coronavirus Updates for Czech Expats

Finding the newest relevant information about issues as important as the current COVID-19 pandemic may be difficult.

There are many often rapid changes to restrictions announced on short notice. It is, however, even more, complicated to understand the situation when you are stuck in a foreign country whose language you don’t speak. So what are the English-written sources where you can find out what is currently going on?

Comprehensive Overview From the Ministry of the Interior

About three months ago the Czech Ministry of the Interior launched a special website mapping the current epidemiological situation and restrictions. It was created by NAKIT (National Information and Communication Agency) and MP Dominik Feri to provide Czechs with all the necessary information, so they don’t have to go through all the complex and often confusing documents released by the government, or different ministries.

Fortunately, the creators kept expats living in the Czech Republic in mind as well and made an English version of the website. The only problem is that it takes time to translate everything and so the website doesn’t provide all the information the original Czech version of the website does. Despite this, there is all the information one really needs, including some details about the vaccination plan against COVID-19.

Of course, the Ministry of the Interior doesn’t provide information about the current epidemiological situation only via this particular website as the ministry has its own website. While it doesn’t give any information on the countermeasures, it is where you can find details on travelling to and from the Czech Republic, which is often even more useful to foreigners than it is to Czechs.

Information From Other Ministries

Surprisingly enough, there is no English version of the Czech Ministry of Health’s official website, nor its ancillary website about current epidemics (right now it is supposedly “only” COVID-19 and measles) in the Czech Republic.

There is an English version of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website, but it gives no information on the current situation, so expats can only rely on the information from the Ministry of the Interior. Unfortunately, even the page about Czech embassies’ current operation is available in Czech only.

Webinars and Newsletters

Not everyone has the time to check the news every day, though, and some may even have questions that cannot be answered simply by reading articles. What can those expats do? The former group can subscribe to the Foreigners’ daily newsletter, which contains news and information from the Czech Republic, including updates on the current epidemiological situation.

Those whose questions cannot be answered via articles might be interested in Foreigners’ monthly live webinars with their immigration expert. There is always an introduction to the current situation and important news is pointed out and then they get to the specific questions from expats. The audience can ask their questions on Foreigners’ Facebook page on which the video is being streamed – usually via comments or, though it’s not as usual, by sending a message.

And of course, for reliable up to date news on the coronavirus epidemic in the Czech Republic follow us at Prague Morning!