Several Bars and Restaurants Violated Closing Time on Friday

Czech police found several restaurants and bars that were open after 22:00 this Friday, violating the government order. Health Minister Jan Blatny labeled this behavior as “unacceptable” and “irresponsible”.

According to Blatny, “the Czech Republic is on the border between the third and fourth PES level, and if the situation worsens, there is a risk that restaurants and bars will have to close again”.

“The exact number of violations, as well as how exactly the measures were violated, will become known only after the weekend,” said a spokeswoman for the Czech police, Kateryna Rendlova.

“Unfortunately, some restaurant and club operators are very irresponsible. In many cases, police officers found catering establishments that were open after 22:00. Club owners closed their facilities after a police warning only to reopen once law enforcement left the scene.”

On Friday, the Health Minister described the epidemic situation as “very fragile”. “I don’t want to scare our citizens, but we are still on the borderline between the third and fourth level.”

In October, Prague officers discovered dozens of people beneath a restaurant on Vodičková Street. The restaurant was found to be closing its front doors and moving the clientele downstairs once the curfew kicked in and is now facing a fine of up to 3 milion CZK.

Police fined 21 guests a total of 11,000 CZK for not wearing masks.

PES, the coronavirus emergency system, assesses the epidemiological risk, taking into account the number of tests carried in relation to the number of positive tests returned, the R0 number, the number of infected per 100,000 people over the last 14 days, and the number of the elderly infected over the last 14 days.