Airlines will only be able to increase airfares once passenger numbers recover, but this will only be by 2021 at the earliest, estimates Iata.
The border between the Czech Republic and Slovakia could be the first to reopen during the coronavirus crisis in what could end up looking a lot like former Czechoslovakia, said Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovič.
“About three weeks ago, I approached the Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš about this issue, and as the situation has currently improved, we could be the first to open the borders,” said the Slovak prime minister in an interview with the pluska.sk.
Matovič also referred to the “possibility of creating something like Czechoslovakia again so that the first borders that fall within Central Europe are between Slovakia and the Czech Republic.”
At the same time, the Slovak prime minister admitted that he would like this to happen as soon as possible, but currently, there is a technical problem.
“Czechs have a rule that if someone enters their territory and spends less than 24 hours there, they do not have to get tested. What might happen is that if someone wants to get to Slovakia, the individual could go through the Czech Republic and thus avoid quarantine and testing. That could cause disaster in Slovakia very quickly,” said Matovič.
The Slovak prime minister explained that Slovaks living in, for example, Sheffield, England, could start traveling to Slovakia via the Czech Republic without being checked.
Indeed, a group of Slovak Romas living in the United Kingdom returned to the country some time ago. As they did not comply with the quarantine rules, COVID-19 has started to spread in five Roma settlements in eastern Slovakia, leading the authorities to lock down these areas.
Martin Klus, the deputy Slovak minister of foreign affairs, has previously confirmed that negotiations about easing the situation on the borders are underway between Czechia, Slovakia, and Austria.
“We can create a mini-Schengen area,” said Klus, predicting that the plan could take place as soon as this summer. A crucial prerequisite will be a positive development in the epidemiological situation in the three countries.
Listen to the bells today at noon.
Churches around the Czech Republic will join in unison in ringing their bells today at 12 noon, in a gesture of solidarity and to thank all the health workers.
In the past, similar celebrations happened after the death of President Václav Havel or Pope John Paul II, in honor of Czech soldiers killed in foreign missions, and in solidarity with the burned-out Notre-Dame Cathedral.
On March 25, the song Není Nutno has been broadcasted on CT1, Český rozhlasand on municipal and local radio stations.
The intention was to give courage and strength and also to express support to all people in the front line fighting against the coronavirus pandemic: doctors, nurses, pharmacists, drivers, firemen, and others.
According to the Institute of Health Information and Statistics, there are approximately 80,000 nurses in the Czech Republic.
From the beginning of the pandemic until the end of April, 343 nurses and 167 doctors, including dentists, got infected with coronavirus.
Less than 250 people are now hospitalized. 42 are in critical condition. The highest number of patients hospitalized has been registered on April 9.
The Czech Republic had 8,177 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection by Monday afternoon. So far 4,738 people have recovered and 283 people have died.
“If it is forbidden to occupy a middle seat due to safety measures on aircraft, the economy class will practically end. It would be ideal to fly on a prepaid flat rate. Domestic flying also has great potential,” says during an interview with E15.cz Oliver Dlouhý, founder and co-owner of Kiwi.com.
“Flights could be cheaper after lockdown due to an “airline price war”, he added. “Airlines will ’price-dump’ low fares so that they have a turnover and pay aircraft leasing. But it has to gradually return to normality, to the golden times of flying,” believes added Dlouhý.
After the gradual release, the main challenge will be how tourists regain confidence in air safety. According to a survey from the USA, 75 percent of people would now be afraid to board a plane.
The low-cost carrier Ryanair backs the introduction of mandatory temperature checks and face masks for passengers and crew when flights resume.
“We’re in dialogue with regulators who are sitting in their bedrooms inventing restrictions such as taking out the middle seats, which is just nonsense. It would have no beneficial effect whatsoever,” says Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary.
He explained: “When this thing is over there is going to be such massive discounting going on that there will be a large spike upward in travel and tourism for a period of time.”
“It’s tricky to understand how many airlines will be able to operate profitably. It will be a much smaller industry,” said Brian Pearce, Iata’s chief economist, talking about the onboard social distancing proposals.
His team argues that social distancing through vacant middle seats is no guarantee against the spread of coronavirus on planes. Instead, Iata supports the wearing of face masks by passengers for safer flying.
Can you catch the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from food? How should I do laundry now? Mundane household tasks have turned into a source of uncertainty and anxiety as families grapple with getting the basics done all while keeping their loved ones safe and healthy. Widespread misinformation about the virus puts everyone at risk and adds to the stress of having to filter fact from fiction.
While research into the COVID-19 virus is ongoing, we know the virus is transmitted through direct contact with respiratory droplets of an infected person (through coughing and sneezing), and touching surfaces contaminated with the virus. The virus may survive on surfaces for a few hours up to several days.
The Deputy Health Minister, Roman Prymula suggests that “you should store the disinfected food in the fridge for two days before eating it, and when the two days have passed, do everything you can to avoid touching the food packaging,” he added.
Prymula points out that “the most important thing is to avoid contact with the surface of the package so that I don’t really touch something that I then bring into the mouth – like a spoon -, because it can be contaminated,” he explains.
“Previous learnings have suggested that coronavirus may persist in the air, paper, and tissue for up to three hours, on copper for up to four hours, on cardboard up to 24 hours, on cloth for 48 hours and on plastic and stainless steel for up to 72 hours,” says Prymula.
“I would recommend creating a so-called “infectious place”, where I would leave the things outside and not carry them anywhere,” he added.
Food packaging and handling precautions
- Remove any unnecessary packaging and dispose into a waste bin with a lid.
- Remove food from take-out containers, place on a clean plate, and dispose of the container.
- Packaging like cans can be wiped clean with a disinfectant before being opened or stored.
- Wash unpackaged produce, such as fruit and vegetables, thoroughly under running water.
- Wash your hands with soap and water, or use an alcohol-based hand rub, immediately afterward.
The film commission in the Czech Republic announced Thursday that film and TV shoots can resume production immediately in Prague now that the government has lifted restrictions and provided safety guidelines to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“Three-quarters of audiovisual productions in the Czech Republic stopped in March. In full compliance with the Ministry of Health, filmmakers are no longer affected by measures restricting cultural and sporting events and large gatherings. We, therefore, consider audiovisual production to be resumed,” Helena Bezděk Fraňková, director of the Czech Film Fund, said in a statement.
The Czech Republic was the first country in Europe to develop self-regulatory guidelines as protection against the spread of COVID-19 during filming.
“Adherence to these recommendations, including testing actors every 14 days during production and, of course, maintaining sanitation standards on location and in studios, will reduce the possibility of infection to an absolute minimum,” Czech film commissioner Pavlina Žipková said.
Shows such as Marvel’s “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” were shooting in the country before production was shuttered there. And Amazon also had productions prepped for the latest season of “Carnival Row” with Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne and the first season of “Wheel of Time” starring Rosamund Pike. Other productions include the Netflix film “473 Transatlantic.”
Among the guidelines that the film commission laid out for individual shoots included access to testing, use of a sanitary base camp, eating lunch in shifts (more commonly known as “French hours”), taking temperatures of people on set, and providing protective gear and sanitizing equipment.
Foreign actors and crew members must have undergone a COVID-19 test at the time they leave their home countries and will undergo a second test within 72 hours of arrival in the Czech Republic, and remain quarantined until they receive a negative result. In this way, they can avoid undergoing a 14-day quarantine upon arrival.
The Central Crisis Staff agreed that the end of the state of emergency on May 17 will also mean the end of widespread wearing of face masks in public.
The president of the Czech Dental Chamber, Roman Šmucler, released an interview with iDNES.cz on Wednesday. However, face masks will be still mandatory in closed spaces and public transport.
“We agreed that after the end of the state of emergency, masks use will be compulsory only in closed spaces, and public transport. We will follow the German model,” said Šmucler.
According to the Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch, “wearing face masks is not tied to an emergency. This is one of the most important measures we have taken. At a time when measures are being relaxed, when people are starting to meet more, masks are even more important,” he added. According to him, “this decision cannot be rushed”.
The Central Crisis Staff consists of thirty experts.
The European Commission approved on Tuesday 5.2 billion euro (CZK 142 billion) Czech loan guarantee scheme for large companies with export activities affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “This Czech guarantee scheme of about €5.2 billion will support companies with a certain amount of export activities in these difficult times. The measure will help these businesses continue their activity during and after the coronavirus outbreak. We continue to work in close cooperation with the Member States to find workable solutions to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, in line with EU rules.”
The scheme will be accessible to large companies whose exports represent at least 20% of their yearly sales revenue.
The guarantees will support lending to those companies, but will not take the form of export aid contingent on export activities as it is not tied to concrete export contracts.
On the contrary, it finances the general activity of the beneficiaries by facilitating their access to liquidity in the form of working capital loans and investment loans.
The Commission has adopted a Temporary Framework to enable Member States to use the full flexibility foreseen under State aid rules to support the economy in the context of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Temporary Framework will be in place until the end of December 2020.
The Czech government agreed on Monday to lift a ban on international bus and train travel from May 11, a member of the government said.
The measure was put in place on March 14 in a bid to control the spread of the novel coronavirus.
According to carriers, the renewal of international routes will depend on the conditions of trips abroad, like Slovakia and Poland, for example, still restrict the entry of foreigners into the country. It will also depend on the interests of the passengers.
“I will propose the government to lift the ban on international bus and train travel from 11 May. It will also be possible to use buses or trains to cross the border,” wrote the Minister of Industry and Trade Havlíček on Twitter this afternoon.
According to spokesman Aleš Ondrůj, RegioJet is ready to resume its international connections almost immediately. “Currently, we see no reason why cross-border regular passenger transport to countries such as Austria should still be banned,” he said.
Leo Express is also ready to renew its routes to Poland and Slovakia if passengers are interested. However, the company hopes that the Czech government will continue the negotiations with these countries and open the borders.
As of Monday, April 27, the rules for crossing state borders have been changed. EU citizens arriving in the Czech Republic for business purposes and university students from EU countries may now come to the Czech Republic. Czech citizens are able to travel abroad, however, on their return, they must submit to 14 days’ quarantine or provide a test with a negative Covid-19 result.
The German low-cost airline headquartered in Düsseldorf and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group Eurowings is the first air carrier to resume partially regular operations after a break of more than six weeks.
Airbus A319 took off from Düsseldorf, Germany yesterday at 18:25, and landed in Prague on Sunday, May 3 at 19:17.
At the moment, Eurowings schedules two flights a week, except on Sundays on Thursdays. From June 1, the carrier expects two flights per day.
Another carrier is returning to Prague tomorrow: KLM’s Embraer E-175 will arrive in the morning and fly to Amsterdam every day.
Other carriers, on the other hand, continue to postpone the start of flights from Prague.
British Airways, which originally planned to resume flights on May 1, will start selling tickets on June 1 at the earliest.
Ryanair and easyJet postponed the launch to May 22, although the companies announced over the weekend that a larger number of flights is not expected until July.
Only Belavia to Minsk and Bulgaria Air to Sofia maintained regular flights in Prague during the pandemic.
Vítejte zpátky! Letecká společnost @eurowings dnes obnovila provoz na Letišti Václava Havla Praha. Na pravidelné lince z/do německého Düsseldorfu letěl Airbus A319 s registrací D-AGWZ. #letimedal #pragueairport #flyfromPRG pic.twitter.com/NUphgRmD8A
— Prague Airport (@PragueAirport) May 3, 2020
On Sunday morning – shortly after 7 am – the last plane with medical supplies, including masks and respirators, has arrived in the Czech capital.
Since the flights began on March 20, fifty planeloads have carried around 2,000 tons of masks, respirators, and other material.
All the supplies are intended for use by healthcare workers, emergency services, hospitals, and nursing homes.
Firefighters and police officers were in charge of unloading and distributing approximately 13,000 cubic meters of medical devices. The goods were transferred to the police warehouse in Opočínek (Pardubice region).
As of April 30, the government distributed almost 9 million respirators, 62.8 million face masks and over 39 million gloves.
p dir=”ltr” lang=”cs”>? Město se pomalu probouzí a my jedeme dnes ráno na @PragueAirport vyložit poslední letadlo s ochrannýma pomůckama.
Dnes nemáme 23 nákladních aut ale vystačíme si s 8, jelikož se nejedná o nákladní letadlo ✈️@vnitro @jhamacek pic.twitter.com/6wapdqkelX
— Hasičský záchranný sbor ČR (@hasici_cr) May 3, 2020
A growing list of foreign complaints about faulty medical gear and testing kits imported from China has upset Beijing’s designs. Within the last few weeks, scientists and health authorities in Spain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey and Britain have complained of faulty antigen or antibody coronavirus tests purchased from Chinese companies — in some cases, costing these governments millions of dollars.
“It’s a complete mess,” said Dan Harris, a lawyer whose firm Harris Bricken has advised companies on sourcing from China for more than 15 years. He called the current situation “unprecedented,” especially as frenzied Chinese suppliers attempt to recoup losses after months of quarantine.
“A year ago, Chinese companies were fine. Now they’re desperate,” Harris said. “A lot of them know they’re going to be bankrupt in a week. A lot are going to be bankrupt already. So they’re selling bad product, fake product” — and the whole world is buying those products, regardless of how they’re made.
The Czech Republic reported just 18 more cases of the coronavirus on Saturday. This is the lowest daily gain since March 9.
The country had 7,755 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection by Monday morning. So far 3,461 people have recovered and 245 people have died.
The Czech Republic reported just 18 more cases of the coronavirus on Saturday. This is the lowest daily gain since March 9.
The country had 7,755 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection by Monday morning. So far 3,461 people have recovered and 245 people have died.
Compared to the numbers from Saturday evening, the number of infected people increased by five. There are 15 more recovered and the death rate did not change.
However, the number of tests performed during the weekend is lower than usual.
The highest number of confirmed novel coronavirus infection cases is recorded in Prague: 1740.
In the second place, taking into account the population is the Karlovy Vary region with 126 people cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
According to Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček (ČSSD), the Czech Republic’s borders with neighboring countries should be fully open from July, Hospodářské noviny writes.
Negotiations with Slovakia and Austria are the most advanced, meanwhile with Poland and Germany “it will require more time”, the minister said this evening.
From July, the borders could be fully opened to four neighboring countries – Austria, Germany, Poland, and Slovakia.
From August, Czechs could travel not only to Croatia, Slovenia, and Greece, but also to more distant destinations outside Europe, such as Canada, Australia, and Japan.
According to Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček (ČSSD), the Czech Republic’s borders with neighboring countries should be fully open from July, Hospodářské noviny writes.
Negotiations with Slovakia and Austria are the most advanced, meanwhile with Poland and Germany “it will require more time”, the minister said this evening.
“From July, I would like the borders to be fully opened to four neighboring countries – Austria, Germany, Poland, and Slovakia. I’m honest when I say that we are well advanced in negotiations with Austria and Slovakia. Negotiations with Poland will probably be the most difficult,” Petříček added.
From August, Czechs could travel not only to Croatia, Slovenia, and Greece, but also to more distant destinations outside Europe, such as Canada, Australia, and Japan.
According to Petříček, it is “still premature to talk about Italy, Spain, France, the USA, and Benelux.”
With effect from April 14th, 2020 Czech citizens and foreigners, are again able to travel abroad, now with the possibility of returning during the state of emergency.
Travel is allowed in necessary and justified cases only (e.g. fulfillment of official duties, work abroad, funeral etc.), which will have to be proven individually to the police at border crossings.
Anyway, as the Prime Minister Babis said in a previous interview, “we had theoretically opened the borders, but in practice, people cannot get anywhere. Flights are mostly canceled and other governments won’t allow people from other countries to enter unless they have a valid coronavirus test.”
On April 20, the President of the Czech Republic Miloš Zeman says the “borders should remain closed at least for one year to tackle the spread of the novel coronavirus.”
Since March, the coronavirus has been confirmed in 7,740 cases. To date, 3,378 people have recovered from Covid-19, while 241 patients have died.
Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world, with more than three million confirmed cases in 185 countries. More than 200,000 people have lost their lives.
The US has by far the largest number of cases, with more than one million confirmed infections, according to figures collated by Johns Hopkins University. With more than 60,000 fatalities, it also has the world’s highest death toll.