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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The state of emergency in the Czech Republic is likely to end on May 17, as the government will not request its further extension, said PM Andrej Babiš in an interview with Prima Television on Sunday.

On Monday, the government will discuss further changes in the wearing of face masks. According to the Minister of the Interior, Jan Hamáček, they could be obligatory only in closed public spaces, such as shops, offices, or public transport.

“It’s important to understand that the virus will still be here and we can tighten the measures again,” stated Hamáček.

According to the Prime Minister, the Czech Republic has managed to prevent the uncontrolled spread of the COVID-19 disease. “We were the first country to suspend flights to Italy and other countries and introduce the mandatory wearing of face masks. Moreover, we are the second country that is relaxing emergency measures,” Babiš pointed out.

According to Hamáček and Babiš, face masks could be mandatory only indoors: “It is necessary to discuss how to proceed with the face masks. They could be mandatory indoors, ie in shops, cinemas, and public transport. Outdoor, the government will only recommend continuing wearing them,” Hamáček added.

From Monday, May 11, all beauty services will be able to reopen, customers in restaurants will have to sit at least 1.5 meters from other tables, but they won’t have to wear facemasks while eating and drinking.

Cinemas and theaters can reopen on May 11 as well. Audiences attending movie screenings and theater performances will be limited to 100 people.

The Czech Republic had 8,095 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection by Sunday morning. So far 4,448 people have recovered and 276 people have died.