Czechs ease restrictions as coronavirus outbreak ‘controlled’

The Czech Republic has allowed some non-essential shops to reopen and hopes to gradually lift other anti-coronavirus measures soon, after the government announced that it had brought the Covid-19 outbreak under control.

Bicycle, DIY and craft shops were among a narrow range of retailers that got back to business on Thursday ahead of the Easter weekend, but customers and staff must still wear facemasks and stay two metres apart from each other.

Earlier this week, Czechs were allowed to resume some outdoor sports and to run and cycle without a facemask, and the government plans to permit people to leave the country from April 14th if they have “reasonable grounds” for the trip and go into quarantine for a fortnight when they return.

Officials say meetings will be held this weekend to decide whether more shops will be allowed to resume trading next week.

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"Recent developments have shown that we have managed to stop the uncontrolled spread of coronavirus and can prepare for a gradual and controlled return to normal life," Czech health minister Adam Vojtech said on Wednesday.

“We are not in the same situation as Italy, Spain, United States or the United Kingdom. The situation is developing very well,” he added. “We are certainly past the worst. At the same time, we have succeeded in protecting hospitals and intensive care units, which still have reserves.”

As of Thursday morning, the Czech Republic had registered 5,335 cases of Covid-19 among its 10.6 million people, 104 of whom had died. Over the previous 24 hours, 295 new cases and 11 deaths were confirmed.

The Czech Republic moved quickly in mid-March to close its borders, schools, pubs, restaurants and most shops, which brought the lucrative tourist and hospitality industries in Prague and elsewhere to a grinding halt.

The government also decreed that facemasks must be worn in public spaces, and shortages were overcome by a national drive to make masks at home, which was popularised by a successful #Masks4All social media campaign.

Testing

A steady increase in testing has also helped the Czech effort – more than 106,000 tests for coronavirus have been conducted – and a “smart quarantine” system using mobile phone data is being developed to help the country track and tackle any surge in cases in the coming weeks and months.

"It's clear that the measures were absolutely adequate because they prevented an uncontrolled spread of the infection and made it possible for us to get ready the hospitals' capacity and enough beds, ventilators and other necessary equipment," deputy health minister Roman Prymula told the Associated Press.

Such is the spare capacity in the Czech health system that one hospital agreed this week to take six Covid-19 patients from France.

Neighbouring Austria also plans to lift some restrictions in the coming days, unlike other countries in the region that were slower to introduce strict measures.

Slovak authorities have imposed quarantine on five mostly Roma districts whose residents accounted for at least 31 of 101 new Covid-19 cases registered on Wednesday. Slovakia has confirmed 682 cases of the virus and two deaths from it.