Czech Republic introduces new restrictions on bars, restaurants, public events

The Czech Republic on Wednesday introduced restrictions on bars, restaurants and large public events, Health Minister Roman Prymula said at a press conference.

As of Thursday, bars will close at 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. of the next day rather than previously from midnight, and the number of participants of mass events will be limited to 2,000 in outdoor settings and 1,000 for multi-sector indoor events.

"There is a limit of 500 people if they are in single-sector mode, if in multi-sector mode, then 1,000 people," he added.

Participants must also be seated -- only 50 can stand in outdoor events and 10 at indoor events, he said.

The health minister added that the entire country would be labeled high-risk within two weeks, according to his prediction. This would essentially mean that the coronavirus response would be less localized and involve blanket measures for the whole country.

The Ministry of Health data showed that the country recorded 2,394 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the second-highest daily increase on record, bringing the total to 53,158.

The country also reported on Wednesday that Czech researchers have successfully completed the first phase of vaccine development for use against the coronavirus, according to Lidove noviny (LN) report. Currently, countries such as China, Russia and the United States, are also racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.

TV BRICS reports with reference to Xinhua News Agency.



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