5 Things First: The Top Czech and World News Headlines

If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. 

CZECH REPUBLIC

• The Health Ministry will propose that quarantine might be finished by a negative test after seven days for those in contact with coronavirus infected, Czech Health Minister Adam Vojtech told journalists today. At present, the people must be in quarantine for two weeks.

• The Czech Republic is the ninth least COVID-afflicted out of the 27 EU countries with 98 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the past 14 days now (roughly 72 a week ago when it was the fifth least-afflicted), the data released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) show.

• A lack of computer chips means that the Czech Republic’s automakers will produce more than a quarter of a million cars fewer than planned, the Automotive Industry Association said on Sunday. The shortfall will mean a loss of CZK 200 billion for one of the country’s most important sectors.

WORLD

• Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez pledged on Sunday to outlaw prostitution in the country. Prostitution was decriminalised in Spain in 1995 and in 2016 the UN estimated the country’s sex industry was worth €3.7bn. A 2009 survey found that up to 1 in 3 Spanish men had paid for sex.