face masks czech republic Archives

Increasing coronavirus infections in the Czech Republic are likely to result in Norway applying travel restrictions to the country this week.

The move was signalled on Monday by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), which published similar notifications in July before restrictions were applied to travellers from Spain and Belgium.

Norway’s health authorities designated EEA and Schengen countries as ‘green’ or ‘red’ depending on current infection rates. To remain ‘green’, the figure must be under 20 infections per 100,000 residents in total over the past two weeks.

Once a country is ‘red’, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against travel that is not strictly necessary to that country, and self-quarantine is required for travellers returning or arriving from it. This also means people cannot travel from ‘red’ countries to Norway for tourism.

NIPH said on Monday that it would recommend travel advisories for the Czech Republic to be changed to ‘red’ at the next update scheduled for later this week, unless any change in the situation occurs in the meantime.

The final decision on travel advice is taken by the government based on NIPH assessments.

The Czech Republic has exceeded the 20 per 100,000 resident infections threshold, resulting in the Norwegian public health authority’s forthcoming recommendation.

“New figures show that the Czech Republic is at 26.8 new Covid-19 infections per 100,000 residents for the last 14 days, and the trend is increasing. We are therefore now notifying that, unless the situation changes, NIPH will recommend that the Czech Republic become ‘red’ country and thereby encompassed by quarantine rules,” NIPH head of department Line Vold said in the statement.

Updated quarantine rules and travel advice normally comes into effect at midnight on Friday.

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Wearing face-masks in public transport could once more become mandatory after summer, Prague Hygiene Service chief Zdeňka Jágrová announced.

As iDNES reports, Prague Security Council held a special meeting in the morning (July 30), connected with the deterioration of the epidemiological situation in the city.

During the discussion, Prague authorities and epidemiologists discussed new measures to combat the spread of coronavirus.

Jágrová told reporters that wearing face masks in tram and buses will become mandatory again, probably from the beginning of September.

“Wearing face masks in tram and buses will become mandatory as soon as climatic conditions allow it. The only reason this measure was canceled is that only a small part of buses and trams are air-conditioned, and wearing masks at temperatures above 25° C causes serious discomfort for many people. In the metro, the air conditioning system works everywhere, so masks remain mandatory,” Jágrová said.

“The situation will certainly be more complicated in autumn than it is today”, added Czech Health Minister Adam Vojtech (ANO).

Jágrová announced that the obligatory wearing of masks, which she said had contributed to better results in the past, will be reviewed every two weeks.

The government will continue monitoring the epidemiological situation in the Czech Republic as well as abroad and introduce additional measures on borders if this proves necessary, she added.

The Czech Republic was the first country in Europe to introduce compulsory face masks, on 19 March.

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From Saturday, July 25 at midnight, it will be mandatory to wear face masks at indoor public gatherings with over 100 people, including nightclubs. The Health Minister Adam Vojtěch (ANO) informed Czech Television today afternoon.

“We are not planning to close certain industries or limit the free movement of people, but prevention is needed. The measures taken are based on information from the regional hygienic stations,” said Vojtěch.

“This measure does not concern shops or restaurants, but specifically sports and cultural events,” the minister specified.

A maximum of 500 people seated in five separate sectors, each comprising 100 people, will be allowed at indoor events.

The number of cases is growing, but the risk group over the age of 65 is not affected and there are no more serious cases that require hospitalization. “However, a number of smaller outbreaks show that there may be potential for a community spread,” said the minister.

An outbreak of coronavirus linked to a music club in Prague has recently increased to 98 cases, including footballers from several of the city’s clubs.

PM Babiš stressed that the Czech Republic had managed the first wave of the epidemic very well, but expressed concerns about the daily increase in coronavirus cases.

The number of new cases in the Czech Republic has been growing significantly in recent days. On Tuesday, the country recorded 212 new positive people. On Wednesday, 247.

The number of active coronavirus infections topped 5,000 in the Czech Republic for the first time after labs reported the highest daily rise in nearly a month.

The Czech government will discuss the resumption of the Central Crisis Staff on Monday.

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According to the Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch, the compulsory use of facemasks on public transport may return from October or November.

“In autumn, the normal seasonal flu could compound health risks stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. Additional tests will also be needed to exclude other diseases,” says Vojtech.

“The incidence of the disease will determine whether we need to wear face masks again. We need to prevent the spread of infection when other respiratory viruses will circulate,” added Vojtěch.

Currently, masks are mandatory only in the Prague metro and in public transport in the Moravian-Silesian and Jihlava regions. It should also be worn in inpatient facilities and nursing homes, as well as indoors at public events.

The compulsory use of the face mask was introduced by the Czech government on March 19, when citizens were “obliged to wear any form of respiratory protection in public places, including in the open air”.

The Czech Republic had 13,238 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection by Tuesday morning, with 64 new infections on Monday. So far 8,373 people have recovered and 353 people have died.

Although the virus is still circulating in Prague, the capital city has only seen a residual amount of new Covid-19 cases in recent days.

At the beginning of April, the Czech-made video #Masks4All by Petr Ludwig and Aneta Kernová in English language was watched by millions of people worldwide and featured on CNN.

The video encouraged people across the world to wear face masks during the global pandemic to slow down the spread of coronavirus.

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