The Czech Republic ramps up efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus by banning meetings of more than two people outside the same household and mandating the closure of nonessential businesses, the Ministry of Health said on Wednesday.

The news is reported by Česká Televize.

The Czech Republic’s government decided to impose a two-week quarantine on 16 March with the exception of travel to work, to health facilities, and a few other exceptions.

The Ministry of Health has recently extended the measure, until April 1.

The draconian measures which will change every aspect of Czechs lives included:

• All gatherings of more than two people in public were forbidden – meaning a ban on all social events, including weddings and baptisms
• Communal play and exercise areas inside parks will also be shut down, but not parks themselves
• Places of worship such as churches and mosques must also shut, except to host for funerals

When in public, people should stand at least 2 meters apart.

Germany took the same measure three days ago when Merkel announced that “spending time in public space is only permitted on your own, with another person who does not live in the household or with members of your own household. When in public, people should stand at least 1.5 meters apart.”

After Italy, Spain, and Austria, the Czech Republic was the fourth European country to restrict people’s movements due to coronavirus.

The Czech Republic is launching a competition for towns and municipalities to test 5G technologies, following a national strategy approved in May.

“5G technologies are crucial to the development of local governments,” commented the Czech deputy prime minister and minister of industry and trade, Karel Havlíček. “As a result, municipalities will be able to work more closely with companies and universities on new systems such as smart transportation, security and digital applications for citizens. All in the spirit of making the Czech Republic a country of the future.”

One of the main goals of the auction is to promote increased competition within the Czech market and to attract new market entrant(s). It is hoped that this will help to reduce the current high costs of mobile services in the Czech Republic. To this end, block allocation of the 2×10 MHz spectrum in the 700 MHz frequency band will be reserved exclusively for new operators.

The competition will show both municipalities and citizens how new technologies can help to improve the quality of life.

“Our aim is to promote the competitiveness of regions using smart approaches while avoiding regional disparities,” added Minister for Regional Development Klára Dostálová.

The Czech Telecommunication Office plans to kick-off an auction of 5G-suitable frequencies in early November, seeking to attract bids from a new fourth mobile network operator to tackle the long-standing problem of high mobile rates in the country.

Within three years of the auction, the current operators will have to cover 95% of all municipalities that presently lack high-speed internet coverage.

As part of its ongoing plans to introduce fifth-generation technology, O2 Czech Republic has activated in June its 5G network, running in a live environment, covering the city of Koline in the Central Bohemian Region (55km east of Prague).