Shops and Services to Reopen on May 3, If Current “Favourable Trend” Persists
All shops, markets and selected services will reopen on Monday, May 3, if Covid-19 numbers continue to fall, said the Minister of Trade and Industry Karel Havlíček (ANO).
On Thursday afternoon, the Czech government discussed a plan to relax measures against coronavirus.
“If the favorable trend continues, we will allow the reopening of the rest of shops, markets, and other services,” wrote Havlíček on Twitter.
Some spas and also museums and galleries can also reopen if there is no rise in cases.
He added that such changes will occur if the number of cases fell to below 100 per 100,000 inhabitants weekly. The figure on Wednesday dropped to 177 and is down from over 400 at the end of March.
Another phase including opening restaurant terraces, outdoor performances, hotels and allowing outdoor sports in groups – all with capacity limits – could happen when the infection rate falls below 75 per 100,000.
In an initial easing of restrictions, first- to fifth-graders returned to classrooms while libraries and a limited amount of retail shops opened on April 12.
The health ministry recorded 2,942 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, down from 3,714 cases on the same day in the previous week and over 7,000 two weeks ago.
The official death toll has risen to 28,787, increasing by 76 on the day, which also includes revisions to previous days, according to ministry data.
Vaccinations on Wednesday fell roughly by 10 percent when compared to the same day the previous week, reaching 58,637 jabs administered on April 22.
Czech authorities also announced a new evaluation system to assess the epidemiological situation was being prepared, replacing the previous PES anti-epidemic scheme put in place in November 2020.
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