czechia Archives – Page 6 of 25

Many European governments have banned large events until the end of August, putting an end to the continent’s festival summer.

The Czech government is following the same direction, as confirmed today by the Minister of Culture Lubomír Zaorálek (ČSSD). “Summer festivals, which are usually attended by thousands of participants, will not take place.”

On Tuesday, the popular Karlovy Vary International Film Festival canceled this year’s edition due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The 55th edition was due to be held July 3 – 11. The festival said the cancellation was necessary “in view of the Czech government’s ongoing coronavirus measures and the complicated worldwide situation.”

Meanwhile, the government decided to allow the operation of theaters, cinemas, concert halls, circuses and similar establishments for up to 100 people.

According to the Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch (ANO), this limit applies to weddings, as well.

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Live Nation announced the cancellation of Germany’s Rock im Park and Rock am Ring anniversaries.

Goodlive’s German festivals Melt and Splash are also affected, while no announcements have been made yet regarding the premiere of Superbloom, which is still scheduled for Sept. 5-6.

In Belgium, Rock Werchter has announced the cancellation of its 2020 edition, which was bound to send shock waves through Europe.

Other major events on the continent have cancelled, including Slovakia’s Pohoda festival and Portugal’s biennial Boom Festival.

Spain’s Primavera Sound has postponed the event from June 3-7 to Aug. 26-30, however, it remains to be seen whether the Spanish authorities decide to introduce extended bans on public life.

It hasn’t yet made any announcements regarding its Eastern European events, including Balaton Sound, Volt and Exit.

From Thursday, April 30, passengers in the Prague metro can use the high-speed LTE mobile network between Muzeum and Můstek stations on line A, reports Mobilenet.cz.

About 20 stations are already covered with LTE services.

At the beginning of April, a consortium of operators launched covered the section between Křižíkova and Invalidovna on line B.

Construction works and cable installation in Prague Metro were performed in phases and during night hours when the metro is closed to the public (1:00 to 3:00 a.m.). The total distance between the four new stations where the cable will be installed in both directions is 11.6 km.

By the end of summer, the consortium wants to complete the coverage of metro sections in the city center. The LTE network should be extended to Staroměstská – Dejvická, Florenc – Českomoravská and Smíchovské nádraží – Anděl.

The costs of covering the Prague metro stations and the tunnels amount to CZK 12 million and CZK 18 million, respectively.

Where LTE network is currently working?
Line A: Bořislavka – Motol Hospital (4 stations: Bořislavka, Nádraží Veleslavín, Petřiny, Motol Hospital), Můstek – Muzeum (2 stations)
Line B: Křižíkova – Invalidovna (2 stations)
Line C: Nádraží Holešovice – Roztyly (12 stations: Nádraží Holešovice, Vltavská, Florenc C, Hlavní nádraží, Muzeum C, I. P. Pavlova, Vyšehrad, Pražského povstání, Pankrác, Budějovická, Kačerov, Roztyly)

The Prague metro began operation in 1974 and now has three lines with 61 stations. It currently has a transit network 65.2 kilometers long. This does not include the long-planned Metro D line.

Expanding WiFi coverage is part of a long-term city project not only for the metro. The Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) has introduced Wi-Fi in new Škoda 15T ForCity trams and some other trams as it modernizes the fleet. By 2022 DPP hopes to have 60 to 70 percent of the fleet covered with WiFi.

The lower house of the Czech parliament voted on Tuesday to extend a state of emergency until May 17, a week less than the government had sought, as the country charts a course to emerge from a coronavirus lockdown earlier than forecast.

The extension is a week shorter than the government sought. The prime minister, Andrej Babiš, had asked for an extension until 25 May to be able to keep restrictions on business in place.

The state of emergency was due to expire on 30 April.

The government of Andrej Babiš and the Social Democrats have been trying to secure sufficient support for the extension, but the opposition parties remained firmly against it.

It has announced that it now expects to reopen the economy faster than previously forecast, although not in time for the deadline now set by parliament.

Babis said after the vote that the government would seek legal amendments to keep some restrictions in place after the state of emergency ends, news agency CTK reported.

The state of emergency allows the government to adopt measures to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, such as limitations on free movement inside the country and across borders, shop and restaurant closures, and streamlined procurement of medical supplies.

Prague was one of the few governments to declare a state of emergency before the country had recorded its first coronavirus death.

By 11 March it had closed all schools, limited public gatherings, banned all public events, sealed its borders, and shuttered all non-essential stores. It also made face masks obligatory in public.

PM Babis’ cabinet declared a state of emergency — the median of three possible states of crisis — on 12 March.

Almost 7,500 people have been tested positive for the coronavirus in the Czech Republic, according to government figures released on Tuesday, 225 have died.

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, annual event that has been taking place in the Czech Republic since 1946, has decided to cancel its 55th annual festival in light of the coronavirus, KVIFF organizers announced on Tuesday morning in Prague.

The festival would have taken place on July 3-11.

Instead, it will offer a selection of movies from its lineup in theaters across the Czech Republic, as the country prepares to open up cinemas (up to 50 viewers) again. It will stage its industry program online.

“We strongly believe that seeing a movie with other people in a theater is a powerful and irreplaceable experience,” said Jiří Bartoška, president of the festival. “And because of the Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival is one of the most important cultural events in the Czech Republic, we have decided that holding an alternative version would go against the festival’s main mission: to bring together audiences, filmmakers, and people from different walks of life in order to collectively enjoy works of cinema.”

The tour will be a special version of the “KVIFF at Your Cinema” program, which takes festival films around the country each year.

At the same time, KVIFF organizers will also offer a virtual version of the “KVIFF Eastern Promises” presentation, in which films in various stages of development and production can be presented to international buyers and festivals.

Those projects will be from Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East and North Africa.

The festival has also joined the YouTube project We Are One: A Global Film Festival.

The 55th annual Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will now take place on July 2-10, 2021.

The Czech Athletics Federation announced that it will be ‘back on the track’ with a six-meeting series to launch in June.

The Czech government’s plan to ease restrictions imposed to control the new coronavirus pandemic will open 100 stadiums across the country to athletes from 1 June.That, coupled with the decision to allow public gatherings of up to 50 people from 25 May, has allowed the national governing body to organize a series of six “micro-meetings”.

The first, set for Sletiste stadium in Kladno on 1 June, will officially kick off the season and will be broadcast live by the Czech national broadcaster CT.

Programs and details are still being confirmed, but the Kladno meeting’s timetable will include a women’s javelin, men’s shot put and men’s 300m. Czech stars Barbora Spotakova, Tomas Stanek and Pavel Maslak have already confirmed their participation – and they can’t wait.

“Athletes want to compete as soon as possible and our federation has found a way to arrange events with a limited number of fifty people,” said Libor Varhanik, Czech Athletic Federation president. “We want to engage athletes of all age categories and performance levels.”

To that end, more than 100 additional competitions will be organized for children and youth athletes across the country on 1 June. The aim of the initiative, Varhanik said, is for all athletes to be together, at least symbolically, at the start of this year’s competitive season.

“That’s why we jumped in together on the first of June at 100 and more athletic stadiums under the slogan, ‘Back on the Track’.” Varhanik said the federation put out the call to its regional and club organizations over the weekend to gauge interest for the first meeting. “According to the responses, it will be enormous,” he said.

The “Back on the Track” project will be connected across the country via social networks, providing video and photo coverage with the hashtag #BackOnTheTrack.

Federation officials stress that all competitions are being organized to align firmly with government rules expected to be in force on 1 June.

Prague Public Transport Company (DPP) announced today to have resumed the operation of the cable car in the Prague Zoo.

At the same time, it will increase the operation of bus line No. 112, leading to the Zoo and Botanical Gardens. However, the cable car to Petřín will reopen on 11 May.

In connection with the gradual increase in the number of public transport passengers, ticket inspectors came back to work on Monday, April 27.

DPP has so far partially deployed them for other jobs related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as filling and distributing disinfectants in the metro stations.

The Museum of Public Transport plans to reopen on Saturday, June 13, while the historic tram line 41 should resume on Saturday, May 16.

From today, shops the size of up to 2,500 square meters that have their own entrance and are not located in large shopping centers are free to reopen, as are driving schools, gyms and fitness centers, although without the use of showers and changing rooms.

The number of coronavirus cases in the Czech Republic reached 7404 on Monday morning, up by 52 on Sunday, the smallest daily increase since March 14.

Over 2,500 people have recovered, 221 people have died.

23.00: From Monday, April 27, universities will open for all students.

22.10: The Czech government lifted a ban on its citizens traveling abroad for reasons other than work following an improvement in conditions of the coronavirus outbreak.

21.41: The Czech government will cancel restrictions on free movement as of Friday and allow groups of up to 10 people to meet in public as it scales back measures to fight the spread of the new coronavirus, Health Minister Adam Vojtech said on Thursday

21.12: On Friday, the government will ask the Chamber of Deputies to extend the state of emergency until May 25, Hamáček said to ČTK. The state of emergency, set to expire on April 30, gives the government powers to limit people’s movement or close businesses.

20:50: The government did not announce any changes regarding easing the ban on travel abroad apart from business trips and commuting.

Temperature records were broken in many parts of the Czech Republic on Thursday.

Thirty of the 150 weather stations in the country keeping records for at least 30 years had not seen such a warm April 16.

The highest temperature was recorded in Pilsen, where the thermometer reached 24.6° C. The information was released by Czech meteorologists.

The maximum temperature exceeded 24° C in Dobřichovice (Central Bohemian Region), in Pilsen-Mikul, in Usti nad Labem-Vanova, in Prague Komořany, and Kopisty.

It is expected that temperatures above 20° C will continue in the next two days, while a slight cooling is expected from Sunday.

Last summer was the hottest in 58 years, with average temperatures of 19.5 degrees Celsius, some 2.5 degrees above the norm for June through August.

The month of June, in particular, was hotter than usual, by some 5 degrees Celsius.

In Prague, June 30, 2019, was recorded as the date of the absolutely highest temperature since measurements started in 1775, with 37.9C.

The survey, by the Deep Knowledge Group, a consortium of technology companies and non-profit organizations, considered 200 data points for each country to compile the list, which placed Germany, China, South Korea, Austria, and Hong Kong in the top five.

Next was Singapore, Taiwan, Israel, and Japan, with the Czech Republic in 11th place.

Deep Knowledge Group adapted its existing analytical frameworks, previously applied to complex domains such as as AI for Drug Discovery and NeuroTech, to the global COVID-19 pandemic landscape. A team of experts collected and analyzed data generated for 200 countries around the world.

The ‘Covid-19 Treatment Efficiency Ranking Framework’ assesses countries based on the sophistication and effectiveness of efforts to monitor the spread of the virus, treatment of patients, in addition to the capacity to develop, test, validate and deploy experimental vaccines and treatments.

Unfortunately, some of the riskiest countries are also from Europe. In the “COVID-19 Risk Ranking Framework” Italy ranked first, the US second, while the UK was ranked third.

The data came from sources including the World Health Organisation, Johns Hopkins University, in addition to overall economic and technological development.

There have now been more than 2 million confirmed cases across the world and upwards of 134,000 deaths.

Eurozone Safety / Risk Ranking

The COVID-19 Eurozone Safety / Risk Ranking Framework was designed specifically for the unique circumstances present in Europe. Special attention was applied to the unique characteristics of Europe including highly interconnected economies, high levels of supply-chain, tourist flow, and the incidence of critical hotspots.

Analysts predict a significant rise in the prices of fruits and vegetables in Czech stores.

Reasons are different: the Czech crown currency’s recent weakening, spring frosts and a shortage of workers in agriculture.

At the moment in Tesco supermarkets, bell peppers cost 80 CZK/kg, tomatoes 60 CZK/kg, and lemons 55 CZK/kg. These prices are about 30% more expensive than last year.

Prices are expected to rise also in rice, as there is a significant increase in global demand.

It is characteristic that, according to Reuters data, the price of rice has climbed to the highest levels since April 2013.

Farmers all over the world feel the lack of employees, including major European suppliers – Great Britain, Spain, France and Italy.

The numbers involved are substantial: France is short of about 200,000 workers until the end of May, while Spain has a shortfall of 70,000 to 80,000. Italy needs about 250,000 seasonal workers in the next two months, while the UK normally receives 70,000 to 80,000 over the season and Germany 300,000.

The restrictions around the coronavirus outbreak have made it impossible for thousands of migrant workers to come and harvest crops in Spanish fields.

“Farmers are forced to hire local residents and pay them a higher salary, which affects the cost of production,” said Boris Tomchiak, Finlord analyst.

Every year, thousands of people from countries like Romania, Bulgaria or Poland come to work in the fields. Many others, especially women, come from Morocco.

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The long-planned renovation of Wenceslas Square has started.

“The revitalization started on the lower part of Wenceslas Square, roughly from Mustek to the Ambassador Hotel,” said Deputy Mayor Petr Hlaváček (TOP 09). He added that works next year will continue to the intersection with Jindřišská Street.

In the framework of the renovation, the sidewalk in the square will be expanded by 25% to 17 meters at the expense of 70 parking spaces, which will leave only 20 parking spaces at the square. The renovation plan includes water sprinklers and recharging stations for electric vehicles.

Furthermore, by the Koruna palace, an additional row of trees will be planted and plane trees will be added to the current lime trees.

The aim is to completely redesign the area to meet urban-design and architecture requirements, including relocation of underground water, gas and electricity lines.

Only delivery vehicles or vehicles with special permission will be allowed through and the space through which any car will be able to go will be narrowed.

Due to the size and the complexity of the space, construction work is planned in two stages.

A proposal to renovate the square by Jakub Cigler Architekti won a competition organized by Prague 1 City Hall in 2005. Its roots go back even earlier. The project originated when Václav Havel was president and Jan Kasl was mayor, from 1998 to 2002.

The company Hochtief CZ won the competitive tender with a bid price of approximately 326 million CZK without VAT.

The Wenceslas square was constructed in the mid-14th century and originally served as a horse market. This square witnessed many historical events, such as the declaration of Czech Independence in 1918, the Soviet invasion of 1968, the key shaking during the velvet revolution of 1989, and so on.

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Photo: Jakub Cigler Architekti

Photo: Jakub Cigler Architekti

On Tuesday, April 14, the Czech government has unveiled a phased-out plan for easing the coronavirus restrictions in the coming weeks.

The plan was presented by the Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček. It is still a draft version, this means that certain dates can be shifted if the situation in the country gets worse.

Czechs will continue to be required to wear masks for the time being, Health Minister Adam Vojtech said. His deputy, Roman Prymula, added that now “a person with the virus infects less than one person on average” and that the epidemic is in decline, Reuters reported.

April 20
– Car shows
– Car boot sales
– Professional athletes will be able to train in public
– Weddings up to 10 people (with specific hygienic measures in place)
– Farmers markets
– Craftsmen and their workshops (e.g. locksmiths, shoe repair shops, joiners etc.)

April 27
– Stores up to 200 square meters (except those in shopping centers)

May 11
– Stores up to 1000 square meters (except those in shopping centers)
– Driving schools
– Gyms and fitness centres but the showers and dressing rooms within them will be off limits.

May 25
– Restaurants, bars, and cafes, with service from windows or in gardens.
– Hairdressers
– Beauty salons
– Tanning salons
– Museums, galleries, exhibition halls
– Zoological gardens (outdoor parts only)

June 8
– Shopping center
– Restaurants, cafes, and bars
– Hotels, hostels, (including their restaurants)
– Theaters
– Castles and palaces
– Bookstores
– Cinemas and theaters
– It will be possible to hold events for up to 50 people
– Tattoo and piercing salons

Schools

Schools will also open gradually. University entrance exams are scheduled for June, and if the development of the disease permits, schools will open for school leavers on May 11th, and younger schoolchildren (including kindergartens) on May 25th.

The Ministry of Education expects the first school-leaving examinations after June 1st. Admission exams for secondary schools will also take place in June, and for the last month of the school year, pupils at the second level of primary schools and secondary school students outside the final year can return to school for classes or consultations.

Pre-schools, nurseries (mateřské školy)

Were not closed by a government order, therefore their reopening is primarily up to their owners [my note: often local municipalities]
However, they will be allowed to open only if they can comply with conditions set by the Ministry of Health.
According to the Education Minister reopening by the 25th of May is realistic, but ultimately not up to the ministry, as per the above.

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