Coronavirus UPDATES CoViD-19 UPDATES

14.04.2020

Schedule for the release of business and other activities:

• Monday, April 20
  – Crafts with establishment
  – Farmers markets
  – Car dealerships and car showrooms
  – Outdoor training activities of professional athletes with the exclusion of the public in smaller groups under precisely defined conditions (athletes with a professional contract, top athletes MO – ACR and MV CR)
  – Weddings of up to 10 people under specific conditions

• Monday, April 27th
  – Establishments up to 200 m2, if they are not in shopping malls above 5000 m2
  (it does not apply to establishments that will be opened in the next stages)

• Monday 11 May
  – Establishments up to 1000 m2, if they are not in shopping malls above 5000 m2 (does not apply to premises to be opened in subsequent stages)
  – Driving schools
  – Fitness and fitness centers without the use of facilities (showers, dressing rooms)

• Monday May 25th
  – Restaurants, pubs, cafeterias, cafes, wine shops, pubs with sale through the window and in the outside (summer) gardens
  – Barbershop, hairdressing, pedicure, manicure, solarium, cosmetic, massage, regeneration or reconditioning services
  – Museums, galleries and exhibition halls
  – Zoos (outdoor enclosures only)

• Monday 8 June
  – All operating in shopping malls
  – Establishments over 1000 m2 not in shopping malls
  – Restaurants, pubs, cafeterias, cafes, wine shops, pubs – interior spaces
  – Hotels and other accommodation facilities (including their restaurants and cafes)
  – Taxis (not yet authorized)
  – Trades in which the integrity of the skin is violated (tattoos, piercings)
  – Theaters, castles, castles and other cultural activities under precisely defined conditions
  – Group events with a graduated number of participants
  – Cultural, social, sporting events (up to 50 persons)
  – Recovery events etc. for children under 15 years of age
  – Others, including tourism measures
  – Weddings under specific hygiene conditions
  – Zoos (including indoor areas)

Source: Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic

10.04.2020

• Optimistic week
  • The numbers of new infections this week decreased significantly compared to the previous week. For two days the number of new cases did not even reach two hundred. The exception was Wednesday, when the number of new cases attacked 300. This is the number to which the numbers climbed almost the whole of last week. This is not because less testing is done – on the contrary, the number of tests has increased this week and has twice exceeded the 8,000 tests.

• The Brno company produces 100,000 Respilon a day
  • By signing a contract for the lease of super clean space in the Technology Park in Brno, the last phase of preparations began, at the end of which will be production with a daily production of 100,000 nanofiber masks and respirators per day. The patented protection will be produced by the Brno company Respilon in three-shift operation.
  • Patented face masks have a copper-enriched filter that captures viruses and bacteria with an efficiency of 99.9% and also kills them. In Brno will be produced in the number of about 65 000 pieces. Daily production of respirators will be 35,000 units. They will be primarily intended for the Czech market.
  • “We felt it was our duty to start production in the Czech Republic. It should never happen again that we could not, if necessary, to our own products, ”added Zimová.

Source : Seznam Zprávy, Novinky

Until the end of the state of emergency on 30 April, many shops or restaurants, cinemas and theaters remain closed. However, some facilities have been exempted and people have access to them. More shops are gradually added to the list of open shops or establishments.

✅Stores and establishments that are OPEN even in times of emergency up to 30 April 2020:

• foodstuffs
• fuel and fuels
• drugstore
• pharmacies, dispensaries and medical goods stores
• small pet stores, pet food and other pet supplies
• glasses, contact lenses and related goods
• tobacco, newspaper and magazine stores
• laundry and dry cleaning
• car repair shops, if there are not more than 30 people
• towing services
• spare parts stores
• establishments for dispensing goods from e-shops
• gardening shops including seeds and seedlings
• ticket sales cashier
• spa facilities, provided that only spa services covered at least in part by public health insurance are provided
• flower shop
• construction and their removal, designing activities in construction, geological work, surveying, testing, measurement and analysis in construction
• fabric and textile haberdashery stores
• computer service, consumer electronics and home appliances
• real estate mediation and activities of accounting advisors, bookkeeping, keeping tax records
  locksmithery
• repair, maintenance and installation of household machinery and equipment
• funeral services, operation of burial sites, performing embalming and preservation, incineration of human remains or remains, including the storage of human remains in the ballot box
• car washes
  household goods stores, where it is possible to buy protective equipment (eg masks, respirators, disinfection, etc.)
• plants for the collection and purchase of raw materials
• composting plant
• collection yards
• hobbymarkets
• shops of building and construction products
• hardware store
•  shops and bicycle services

❌Stores and services continue to be BANNED:

• catering establishments located within shopping malls with a sales area exceeding five thousand square meters
• casinos
• driving school
• taxis, with the exception of taxis delivering food or persons authorized to taxis
• indoor sports grounds
• theaters, concert halls, cinemas
• church services
• sport match
• school equipment
• shoe or clothing stores
• restaurants and catering facilities (except for those who cook for employees, health and social service providers, prisoners)
• library
• bookstore
• stationery
• fairs and markets
• galleries and museums
• accommodation facilities (boarding houses, hotels)
• self-service laundries and dry cleaners
• shops with electrical appliances
• beauty salons (cosmetics, pedicure, manicure), hairdresser

Source : Seznam Zprávy, Novinky

• 16:48 The House voted to extend state of emergency until 30 April
  The House extended the state of emergency until 30 April. A total of 90 members voted in favor, 5 against.
  • There are 101 enrolled legislators in the House due to the restricted regime.
  • Originally, the government demanded an extension of the state of emergency by 30 days, but the proposal was only 48 coalition deputies. The option to extend the state of emergency by 14 days was also declined

• 15:26 Minister Vojtěch admitted a number of mistakes, but he believes that the situation has been managed and that patients can be provided without the hospital collapsing. According to him, the Czech Republic is significantly better than many richer countries.
  • “Next time we will be like Taiwan and we will know how to proceed,” the Minister replied.

• 12:35 ODS deputy Marek Benda drew attention to legislative problems. He recalled that, for example, the Supreme Administrative Court has already confirmed the unlawful abolition of elections to the Senate in the Teplice region.
  The government did not even have the power to restrict travel. “The government has no power towards its population to restrict travel to the territory of other states. He cannot forbid anyone to travel, ”Benda added.According to Benda, the government should make decisions ahead of time and not just announce what it has banned or will forbid tomorrow.

Source : Seznam Zprávy, Novinky

06.04.2020

• The government announces the modifications on free movements of people
  • From Tuesday you can ride a bike without a veil or play tennis. From Thursday, the Czechs will be able to go to the hardware store, hobbymarket or building materials. The government will be on Monday. At the same time, she ordered open stores that you have disinfectants at your disposal.
    In addition, the collection and purchase of raw materials and composting facilities will be open from Tuesday
  • From Thursday, the government allows the opening of hobbymarkets, building materials, hardware and bicycle shops and services. But everyone must follow strict hygiene measures.
  • The shops will have to be at the entrance of disinfection and people will have to keep a distance of two meters. Shops could also limit the number of visitors in open stores.
• Vojtěch: I will publish the plan after Easter
  However, Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch added that this is not a massive opening, but a gradual process.
  • “We are not going to contaminate the population, which would be spontaneous in any way. We have made it clear that if the epidemiological situation is favorable, we do not have a major problem with gradual disintegration. But then we need to evaluate the impact of the decision. After Easter, I want to present a plan for gradual loosening, ”added Vojtěch.

• Prymula: I changed my mind. The population needs to be infected.
  • Deputy Minister of Health Roman Prymula, who is a key figure in the state’s approach to the coronavirus epidemic, has changed his mind about the need to pursue harsh measures. If favorable developments persist, they will moderate and a controlled immersion of the population will begin. For example, he would open schools in mid-May. He explained his idea in an interview for DVTV.
    During the one-hour speech, the epidemiologist mentioned several times that it was necessary to start the economy economically and to manage the Czech population in a controlled manner with new coronavirus in the following months.
  • Since there is no covid-19 cure in the near future, Deputy Prymula would target additional protective measures for the elderly and at risk groups and open life for the rest of the population to infest it.
  • “When a group of at-risk groups is managed, the rest of the population should meet the disease at some point in time and prove immune. Czechs should meet with coronavir. I do not say everyone, but those for whom it will not be worse than the flu. And they are people of lower age, people healthy, ”he added.
  • “I changed my mind about it. Our first data was based on some tabulated data from China. However, a relatively high proportion of the population appears to be wasting coronavir. Now the first data from Italy, scientists say that there are significantly more infected than official data show that there are perhaps ten million. So the dead are not 15 percent, but maybe 2 to 3 percent, ”said Roman Prymula.

• Employers can apply for employee salaries from Monday. Everything will be handled electronically. Anyone who qualifies will receive the money, no matter how quickly the application is submitted.

• The government will discuss the possible release of restrictive measures due to coronavirus. According to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš some shops and sports facilities could be opened. However, Interior Minister Jan Hamacek considers it premature.
  • According to epidemiologist Roman Prymula, small shops could be opened on Thursday. The measures will be released gradually, with the majority of the population meeting coronavirus over time, Prymula told DVTV.

Source : DVTV, Echo24, Seznam Zprávy, Novinky

• In the Czech Republic they used a promising drug in patients with coronavir
  At the Central Military Hospital, hydrochloroquine is being tested for malaria in patients with coronavirus. “Fifteen patients who were in the care of our Clinic of Infectious Diseases were treated with hydrochlorochine. Eight patients treated with this therapy have already been released for home treatment. It is still premature to draw conclusions, and the preliminary results of this therapy will be evaluated in April, but the medicine looks promising, ”said the hospital’s director Miroslav Zavoral in an interview with Právo daily.

• Good news. Testing was record, but the number of new cases decreasedThe increase in the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus-induced COVID-19 disease in the Czech Republic slowed further on Thursday, adding 259 to the day. On Thursday, the number of tests rose to an all-time high.
  In hospitals, according to data for Thursday, 359 patients were infected with coronavirus. Of these, 77 had severe disease.

• Andrej Babiš agrees to extend the emergency only until the end of April – originally the government wanted to extend it until mid-May.

• Plaga rejected the meter distancing between pupils
  One-meter distancing between pupils or phasing in the beginning of lessons is impossible at Czech schools. Minister of Education Robert Plaga (ANO) said it on Czech Television (CT). Plaga can imagine that in schools after returning pupils will need increased disinfection, strict adherence to hygiene habits, checking pupils’ health, possibly wearing masks and other measures. But it is not possible to ensure that there are meter spacing between students or to phase out lessons so that children from different classes do not meet. Such measures were proposed by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš in an interview for Blesk.cz.

• Convenience stores and household goods stores are opened
  Household convenience stores that offer protective equipment can open from Thursday morning. The new sale ban also  does not apply to the sale of food in shops where the food section can be separated from other parts. This concerns, for example, so-called mixed goods. The condition for opening stores with household goods is that among other products they will also offer respirators, masks, face masks, scarves, gloves or disinfection.

• Border checks will be by 24 April
  Checks at the borders with Germany and Austria will last until midnight on Friday, 24 April. The government decided to extend the internal border control by 20 days on Wednesday and  the Ministry of the Interior  gave 18.1 million crowns for the checkpoint from the government budget reserve.

• The world donated tons of material to the Czech Republic
  • The Czech Republic or some of the state institutions and local governments received tens of thousands of masks, respirators, protective clothing and other medical aids from other states, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. For example, Vietnam, China’s Zhejiang and Hainan provinces and Taiwan have expressed solidarity with the Czech Republic.

• Mongolian community donated 600 masks
  • Mongolian citizens working in Foxconn Kutná Hora, effort and gave the city 600 cotton masks. “We want to help where we live, to be helpful,” said the Mongolian community. “It was a spontaneous event from the Mongolian community. They came that they sewed six hundred drapes at home and would like to donate them to the needy, ”said Pavel Kožený, Foxconn manager. “That is why we contacted the management of Kutná Hora and arranged the handover. It is a nice expression of the relationship Mongolian workers have built with the city. ”

• Thirteen European Union countries have expressed concern about the restrictive measures taken due to the coronavirus pandemic and their impact on the rule of law, democracy and the fundamental values of the EU-27. The Czech Republic is not among them.

• Dispute over tradesmen
  • Finance Minister Alena Schillerova admitted that after criticism will modify her proposal to support tradesmen. Instead of regular contributions, they should receive only a one-off benefit of 25,000 crowns, for which only a part of them will reach. The Chamber of Deputies will deal with the matter and the CSSD intends to support such a proposal that will guarantee the money to as many life-support troubled people as possible.

• The Central Crisis Staff wants the government to ask the House to extend the state of emergency until 11 May. Meanwhile, the emergency situation ends on April 11 and could be extended by 30 days. His boss Jan Hamáček said it at a press conference after the Central Crisis Staff meeting.
  • At the same time, he added that this has nothing to do with the government’s economic measures towards entrepreneurs, for example, which last only until the end of April.
    “It has no relation to the specific measures announced by the government. We need to know for how long and in what regime we have been operating, ”added Hamáček.
  • Currently the state of emergency lasts until 11 April, it was declared on 12 March.

Source : Seznam Zprávy, Novinky

• We expect 14,000 positive cases by the end of April, experts report
  • Health Minister Adam Vojtěch (for ANO) reported on coronavirus developments on Wednesday morning. According to him, the Czech Republic is doing well and does not go in the direction of the Italian model. Experts still expect up to 14,000 confirmed cases by the end of April.
  • According to Ladislav Dušek, director of the Institute of Health Information and Statistics (ÚZIS), the Czech Republic expects 14,000 confirmed cases by the end of April, in mid-April it will be 8,000 cases. Also important is the number of tests performed and the reproductive number, which has decreased since last week.
  • ”Eight thousand newly confirmed cases would be tested by mid-April. But not infected cases, but detected and diagnosed. The number varies from 5600 to 12 300, ”Dušek said. According to him, the model is realistic. By the end of April, the figures are even higher.
  • “The model predicts 14,000 cases by the end of April, ranging from 7200 to 30,000,” Dušek added.

• Large unknown coronavirus pandemic: Why do more men die?
  • Older men are the most vulnerable group, according to the data available for infected and deceased people from COVID-19 infection
  • Obviously, it is still too early for more comprehensive conclusions as to why this is happening. Some explanations are based on gender differences in lifestyle. One may be that, from a statistical point of view, men tend to have a higher risk behavior. This causes them to smoke and drink more.
  • And smoking causes more problems in fighting infection. However, the data show that mortality is higher in men even in the lower age categories and the disease is more often confirmed in men. This also applies to the group in which long-term smoking cannot be mentioned – children.

31.03.2020

• Restricting free movement throughout the Czech Republic, which is one of the measures against the spread of a new type of coronavirus in the country yesterday, the cabinet re-extended until 11 April to 6:00. The measure has been in force since March 16, the government last extended it until Wednesday, April 1. At the time, she also extended it to the provision that people in public places should not form groups and be at most two.
  • Restaurants remain closed until the same date and, with some exceptions, retail and service bans also apply. The prohibition does not include, for example, grocery stores, pharmacies, drugstores, computer stores, small pets and pet supplies, newspapers and magazines, gardening, florists or medical stores.

• Oil is the cheapest since 2002. Prices knocked down coronavirus
  • US light oil WTI fell during Sunday trading to $ 19.92 per barrel. North Sea Brent oil reached $ 23 per barrel. Both types of oil thus experienced a roughly 6% drop in prices and sold the cheapest in 18 years, the Financial Times said. The coronavirus crisis has crippled the economy and reduced oil demand.

• The government tapped another 7 billion inside and healthcare
  The Ministry of the Interior will receive CZK 4.3 billion from the government budget reserve for the purchase of protective equipment due to the spread of a new type of coronavirus. It was approved by the government at Monday’s meeting, according to a resolution posted on its website. Also, the health sector will receive from the reserve money for protective equipment and other equipment, and three billion. By Monday, the Ministry of Finance released about five billion crowns for the purchase of equipment.

• The obligation to wear a veil will not newly apply to children under two years of age and to drivers of motor vehicles. So far, everyone had to wear the veil in public. It was approved by Cabinet of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) on Monday.

Source : Seznam Zprávy, Novinky

30.03.2020

• In South Moravia, smart quarantine testing begins. To identify and isolate people infected with the new coronavirus, data from mobile operators and banks will be used by hygienists. Soldiers form mobile teams to collect samples from people who have been in contact with the infected. If the project works well, smart quarantine could replace area-based restrictions.

• The Chamber of Commerce evaluates the government’s steps towards entrepreneurs and employers and the current situation at labor offices.The demand for services and goods has fallen so much that entrepreneurs are not able to cover the damage, stressed Vladimír Dlouhý, President of the Chamber of Commerce.
  • According to a lightning survey conducted by the Chamber among its 1,400 members at the end of last week, it shows that 47 percent of companies have sent employees on a forced vacation, home office or dismissal. Every fifth company has already reduced employees’ wages.

Source : Seznam Zprávy, Novinky

28.03.2020

• Hygienists in South Moravia will start testing a system of smart quarantine on Monday. The system should then be extended after Easter throughout the Czech Republic.
• “Smart quarantine is a series of measures to identify, isolate, and, if possible, test for coronavirus. It’s called smart because we’re trying to deliver technology to help hygienists. They will speed up the work, digitize it and make it more efficient, ”explained Petr Bartoš, the coordinator for epidemiology and data analytical matters from the Covid19cz project.
• And how will it work?
  1. The hygienist calls the infected person and asks if he or she agrees to use data from his mobile phone and bank. If the infected person explicitly agrees, the hygienist announces that he will call back in half an hour and hang up.
  2. The mobile operator and the bank will then be informed of the infected person’s consent. The operator then transmits the movement data of the infected person in the last two days before the infection was detected according to the location of his smartphone. Similarly, the Bank shall do so on the basis of the most recent card payments made.
  3. Put this data on the map and pass it on to the hygienist. He then calls the infected person and discusses it with him, helping him to remember where he was everywhere
  4. Infected’s data will remain in the system for a maximum of six hours, then deleted. Once hygiene is complete, data will be deleted. Data security is also assured by running a free system for the Ministry of Health, Keboola, which manages and secures data for large companies such as banks or insurance companies.
  5. If the infected person disagrees with the use of their data, the operator will not be contacted and the hygienist will find out the places he has visited and with whom he met as before. The infected person is legally obliged to disclose this information to hygiene.
• In addition, next week Covid19cz will introduce a mobile application that has even more help in identifying infected contacts. “The user installs it and agrees that the app will store data about phones near it on the phone. This will be done using Bluetooth technology. According to the signal strength, we can even tell how far apart the phones were, ”Bartoš said.
  • However, in order for the phone to store data about another person’s phone in their vicinity, they will need to have both installed the application, both have agreed to store the data, and both have Bluetooth turned on on the phone. Today, virtually all mobile phones already have this functionality for wireless data transfer over shorter distances. It is therefore desirable to involve as many people as possible and install the application.
  • The hygienist will then follow the same procedure. “When a positive virus test comes out, the hygienist will contact the user and ask if they are using the application and whether they agree to provide data from it. If agreed, the data will be sent to the hygienists and they will immediately and accurately know who they were in contact with. If the data is not needed, it will only remain on the phone and the data will disappear after the application is deleted, ”Bartoš noted.

Source: Novinky

27.03.2020

• 9:50 The condition of the patient receiving the experimental drug has improved significantly.
  • The condition of a critical patient who has drugs with COVID-19 and may be an experimental drug, Remdesivir, is trying to be at risk of extracorporeal circulation. Introduced to the spokesperson of the General University Hospital (VFN) Marie Heřmánková.The drug arrived in the Czech Republic on Wednesday and was immediately administered to the patient.
  • Clinical trials of Remdesivir started in the US a few days ago. Doctors want to involve 400 people in 50 countries together. Half of them will give Remdesivir, while the remainder will be given only placebo, a non-efficacious substance adjusted to the drug. The study results could be in late March.

Source: Novinky

26.03.2020

• The Czech Republic will offer Italy and Spain assistance by supplying 10,000 protective suits for medical staff. This was stated by Interior Minister Jan Hamacek ( ČSSD), according to which Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek (ČSSD) provided details.
• According to the Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch (for ANO), 4,098 people were investigated on Wednesday. “To date we have 34 patients with a severe course,” said the Minister. On Wednesday, 291 new cases were added, which is the highest in one day.
• The Ministry of Health, headed by Adam Vojtěch (on behalf of ANO), extended and clarified the Government Decree on the restriction of free movement of persons and supplemented it in an emergency measure by providing that it is forbidden to stay in public places of more than two persons, it does not  face masks or veil should be worn at all times. This change is not included in the list of measures on the Government’s website.
  • Thus, the restriction on the free movement of persons is now supplemented by point 2c, which explicitly states that it is required to stay in publicly accessible places for a maximum of two persons, with the exception of members of the household, occupation, business or other similar activity, funeral, and keep at least two meters away from others when possible.
• People or businesses will not be able to claim damages caused by emergency measures. The head of crisis staff Roman Prymula confirmed in on TV Prima . The measure with effect from 1 April was announced by the Ministry of Health on the basis of the Public Health Protection Act. Previously, they were announced by the government on the basis of the Crisis Act until 24 March.
  • The Government issued a set of measures valid from 15 March to 24 March. On Monday it extended until 1 April, but the measure has already been officially issued by the Ministry of Health.

Source: Novinky

25.03.2020

• Seniors over the age of 65 and those over the age of 50 now have time to buy in larger grocery and drugstore stores with an area of 500 square meters from 08:00 to 10:00. Smaller village shops, bakeries and delicatessen will no longer be subject to restrictions.
• Covid-19 was confirmed in 1497 people in the Czech Republic. Three people succumbed to the disease, ten people recovered. Europe is currently the most affected by the pandemic, while China is now under control. After Tuesday midnight arrived in Pardubice for the second time a large-capacity aircraft An-124 Ruslan with help.
• The death toll of Covid-19 overcame swine flu, which killed 18,500 people between 2009 and 2010. The waves of Asian flu from the 1950s and 1960s killed millions.

Source: Novinky

24.03.2020

• Remdesivir : The Czech Republic already has possible  cure for COVID-19. Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch confirmed that the drug for coronavirus Remdesivir has arrived in the Czech Republic today. The General University Hospital in Prague is starting to administer it to a patient with a severe course of the disease.
• After Easter, the Ministry of Health wants to introduce a new way of quarantine. “Within three days, we want to identify positive contacts, test them as quickly as possible and isolate their contacts. The places where they occurred should then be disinfected, ”Deputy Roman Prymula described the functioning of the“ smart quarantine ”.
• The nationwide quarantine is extended until 1 April 2020, the goverment said  that they will announce further notice.
• For the upcoming Easter season, unfortunately the traditions and masses will not be celebrated. We need to keep ourselves distanced from each other to prevent further spread of the virus
• 11:20 – At the Havířov hospital, a patient with a multiorgan failure due to a large tumor disease died on Tuesday. His death accelerated the infection with coronavirus Covid-19. Irma Kaňová, a spokesman for the Havířov Hospital, informed about it. The hospital received the men on Wednesday March 18 from rescuers. “The hospital has done everything to save him, but even specialized intensive care has failed to help him. The patient had extensive cancer with advanced metastases to other organs. Unfortunately, the coronavirus infection hastened his death, ”the spokeswoman said.
• 21:04 In the Czech Republic, the third patient with coronavirus died, a senior woman infected with her family. The third patient with COVID-19 died in the Czech Republic. According to the Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch (for ANO), the senior citizen had other health problems. She suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and was not hospitalized for coronavirus. “We ask everyone not to visit their grandparents, or always with a veil,” Vojtěch said on Twitter.

Source : Seznam Zprávy, Novinky

23.03.2020

• The government unanimously approved the suspension of the EET for the duration of the emergency and the following three months. The House will discuss the proposal on Tuesday.
• Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) gave a speech on Monday on the current situation regarding coronavirus. He believes that the Czech Republic will cope with the pandemic, even if the country is in one of the most difficult moments of modern history. The Prime Minister also said that he takes full political responsibility for the measures taken by the government.
• Ministry of Education expects that  schools will be open again from second week of May to June. If the situation will be worst as expected, the school will start until the next school year on September

22.03.2020

• 20:27 In the Czech Republic after seven o’clock in the evening , the first person infected with coronavirus died. He is a 95-year-old man with other health problems, the Ministry of Health informed. He was confirmed on March 18 Covid -19. The patient had long-term chronic health problems associated with old age, ”the hospital said. He was hospitalized at Na Bulovce Hospital in Prague.
• Deputy Minister of Health Roman Prymula told Czech Television on Sunday that the border restrictions may last up to two years. It depends on the management of the epidemic in other countries.Traveling abroad may be limited in the following year or two. According to him, the holiday will probably be in the Czech Republic this year, said Prymula, who had similarly expressed himself on Prima television earlier, saying that the measures will probably be released only in our country: “We will have to be encapsulated. The situation in other European countries will not be good. Those will be months and long months. ”
• Antimalarials chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are the focus of attention as medicines that could work for Covid-19. US President Donald Trump spoke about their use on Thursday, both France and China tested and are now being tested in Sweden. The Department of Health has restricted the prescription of Plaquenil for most doctors since 18:00 on Sunday.
  • Prymula said on Sunday on Czech Television that it is a drug that could be well used in the treatment of Covid-19, because it shortens the time of virus secretion. “The results from France are promising,” he said, adding that the preparation is withdrawing from pharmacies. He did not name the drug to not buy, but in France it was tested with good results just chloroquin
  • 
    • Source: Seznam Zprávy, Novinky

21.03.2020

Today in Czech Republic:

• 19:00 Recovered patients are now 6, including the six years old child in Prague. Infected case  raises to 995.

• Ministry of Health admits the raise of the numbers of infected in our front liners, health care workers, policemen and firefighters.

• There is possibility that the school will re-open in Autumn – next school year of September 2020.

20.03.2020

20.03.2020

New changes has been announced for the residents of the Czech Republic.

“We decided to replace quarantine. We will pay for all companies. Their employees will receive 100 percent of their wages and we will pay 80 percent of companies, ”Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) said after the government meeting.

“We agreed that the care benefit for the self-employed will be under the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and was approved today at 424 crowns per day, which is about 14 thousand crowns per month,” said Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlicek.

“Nursing care will continue to apply for the entire duration of the emergency measure and for the entire period of closure of schools and kindergartens, and will also apply retroactively. Those who have already applied for will not have to fill in a new application, ”added Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Jana Maláčová (ČSSD), adding that the program is now extended to children up to their thirteenth birthday.).

19.03.2020

Czech Post carries the masks free of charge: 19.03.2020

From 19 March, the Czech Post will be transporting shipments with masks free of charge, without the need to pay postage. The condition is that the sender will send the drapes free of charge without requesting payment by the addressee and will not ask the addressee for money for the delivered goods, even in the form of cash on delivery.

We would like to thank in advance this way to all those who donate the masks to their postmen and postmen who also have a great lack of them.

“The whole society is struggling with a lack of drapes. People sew them at home and offer solidarity to those who need them. Forgiveness of postage is the least we can help now, ”says Roman Knap, CEO of Czech Post.

The consignment must have the following parameters:

✅the shipment will be in a transparent package,
✅the consignment must be marked “ROUŠKY”,
✅the addressee address and the remark must be affixed and affixed to the consignment in such a way as to be legible and to allow normal handling of the consignment throughout the journey (ex. self-adhesive label),
✅if the shipment has dimensions: length not more than 35.3 cm, width not more than 25 cm, and thickness not more than 2 cm, the consignment can be placed in a regular mailbox
the maximum dimensions of the consignment may be: not more than 240 cm in length and the sum of all three dimensions shall not exceed 300 cm,
✅the consignment must be placed at the post office, not thrown into the mailbox.

With regard to the current maximum emphasis on minimal contact between the population, shipments will be sent as ordinary shipments, which can be delivered by inserting into the house mailbox (maximum dimensions 35.3 x 25 x 2 cm) or by delivery without the need to confirm receipt of the shipment.

Due to the type of service used (ordinary shipment), ČP is not liable for damage caused by loss, damage or loss of the shipment content.

Source: https://www.ceskaposta.cz/-/ceska-posta-zdarma-prepravuje-rousky

18.03.2020

From 19.02.2020 00.00 The Government of Czech Republic announced strict usage of face mask for all residents of Czech republic. No one can go outside at public exposure without face mask or any nose and mouth cover. With this, only senior citizens aged 65 yo and older will be allowed to go to the shop from 10:00 – 12:00.

There will be fine of up to 20,000 CZK for anybody who did not abide this order.

17.03.2020

Prague: No one can enter any establishments open for public without face mask or any nose and mouth covers. Employees of the establishments especially food shops should wear gloves as well. There will be strict disinfection cleaning every hour in the store.

16.03.2020

The City Mayor of Prague announces travel ban for people using public transport without face mask or any cover of nose and mouth. The Ministry of Health is doing their best to provide face mask to be available in the market soon.

16.3.2020 – Quarantine

The Government of the Czech Republic has declared a quarantine for the Czech Republic. The Regulation will run from 16/03/2020 00:00 to 24/03/2020 06:00. The movement of citizens will be restricted during this period.

In general, this means that citizens are advised to restrict as much as possible their movements away from home. It’s still possible to go to work and buy food in grocery stores.

Electronic stores are newly closed and the operation of shared Uber-type taxi services is restricted.

With this regulation, the government hoping for limit the increase in the number of infected with Covid-19 disease.

The latest number of infected is 298. Refer to the chart up for LIVE counts.

15.3.2020

The government of Czech Republic is finalizing and discussing their further plans to fight with COVID-19.

14.3.2020