In the past couple of weeks, the number of people newly infected with coronavirus has been rising in several countries, the Czech Republic being no exception. For this reason the Czech government announced that certain countermeasures will be reintroduced in order to prevent another massive spread of the new disease.
Current situation
Recently, new clusters of COVID-19 have been emerging across Europe, which leads to many experts believing that the dreaded second wave has already started. Governments of several countries have resorted to the reintroduction of some countermeasures – for example, in Austria wearing face masks is once again mandatory and the country’s southern borders are closed.
In the Czech Republic, it is particularly epidemiologists Roman Prymula and Rastislav Maďar, and the Minister of the Interior Jan Hamáček who are worried about the situation. Prymula and Maďar are convinced that we are already experiencing the second wave, and Hamáček is urging people to start wearing face masks again – without waiting for the government to make this mandatory.
Countermeasures reinstalled
In reaction to the situation getting worse, the Minister of Health announced on July 23 that some countermeasures will be renewed nationwide from Saturday, July 25. These countermeasures are as follows:
- Mandatory face masks at mass events (+100 participants) taking place in indoor areas;
- Mandatory face masks at weddings and funerals.
As of July 27, only events up to 500 people will be allowed to take place. Right now the limit on the number of participants is 1 000.
Even stricter countermeasures will be put in place in Prague: From Monday, the obligation to wear a face mask will also apply in non-residential medical facilities, such as pharmacies or doctor’s waiting rooms. Until now the obligation has only applied to hospitals. In Liberec region and Ústí nad Labem region, restrictions are being tightened up as well.
On the other hand, in some regions the restrictions are being slowly lifted despite the worrisome situation. This concerns mostly the Moravian-Silesian Region and Kutná Hora district.
So far there are no plans for implementing restrictions on traveling or a complete border shutdown.
Will the EU Commission intervene?
In order for the EU member states to avoid the second wave or at least minimize its impact, the EU Commission decided to prepare a strategy that is supposed to coordinate the implementation of countermeasures EU-wide. It is expected to be introduced in September. It is likely, however, that this strategy won’t affect people’s daily lives as it’s mostly focusing on cooperation between the EU member states.
Let us know and get your residence permit as soon as possible to be safe in the future in case the pandemic returns. Having a residence permit is the best way of making sure you’ll be able to return to the Czech Republic even if the borders are closed again.
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Sources: Novinky.cz – article I, article II, article III, article IV and article V
Source of the photo: Pixabay.com
