On October 28 a night curfew and several other coronavirus countermeasures will come into effect as decided by the government on October 26. Besides that, the government plans to start testing residents and staff of retirement homes and curb non-acute surgeries at hospitals in order to increase the number of hospital beds available.
Night Curfew
On October 26 the government decided a night curfew would be imposed as of October 28 since the number of people infected with coronavirus hasn’t started decreasing even after introducing several different sets of restrictions. This means that between 9:00 PM and 4:59 AM people are not allowed to go outside unless they belong to one of the exceptions.
The exceptions are the following:
- Travelling to/for work;
- Urgent travels to protect life, health, and property;
- Providing basic infrastructure, public transport, or delivery services;
- Walking dogs 500 metres from the place of residence.
Compliance with the curfew will be monitored by the police. Police officers will be allowed to ask for citizens’ IDs and to prove these persons are one of the aforementioned exceptions. The curfew will remain in place for the duration of the state of emergency which will supposedly end on November 3, though there is a chance it will be extended.
Other Restrictions
Other restrictions will affect retail stores that will have to stay closed on Sundays. On the other days, they can be open only between 5:00 AM and 8:00 PM. This, however, doesn’t apply to gas stations, pharmacies, or shops in places with a higher concentration of passengers, such as airports, railway stations, or bus stations. The restriction neither applies to stores in medical facilities and restaurants where food can be purchased in the form of take-outs. Flower shops will remain open as well because of Dušičky, but only up to two customers can be present in the shop at the same time.
The Czech government also mandated the use of the home office in cases where the nature of the job allows it.
Restrictions have been also imposed on farmers’ markets and other outdoor stores. To be more specific, this means that outdoor sales must not take place. There will be some exceptions (such as mobile shops that transport goods to smaller villages), however, people will not be allowed to consume purchased food in that very same place they had purchased it. Market stalls have to be situated at least 2 metres apart and there must not be more than 20 people per 400 square metres in one place at the time.
These restrictions should also remain in place for the duration of the state of emergency.
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More Changes
The rapid spread of the coronavirus also means that hospitals have to curb non-acute care at hospitals in order to increase the number of hospital beds and staff available. To avoid hospitals in the Czech Republic collapsing, two field hospitals were built – one in Prague, one in Brno.
The government is also determined to start testing people at retirement homes. The goal is to separate healthy people from the infected, so the virus doesn’t spread even further.
Let us know and get your residence permit as soon as possible to be safe in the future in case the pandemic indeed returns in full force. 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 of the information: iDnes.cz and SeznamZprávy.cz
Source of the image: Pixabay.com
