Czech Republic declares state of emergency due to coronavirus and closes Christmas markets

The government of Czech Republic declared a state of emergency for 30 days this Thursday, at the same time that it announced the closure of Christmas markets to try to stop infections by coronavirus covid-19.

Czech Republic, with 10.7 million inhabitants, registered 18,004 new infections on Wednesday, while the previous day there were 25,877.

In the east of the country,

“The situation will get worse in the coming weeks, and a peak is expected around Christmas,” Health Minister Adam Vojtech told the press.

But unlike neighboring Austria and Slovakia, which imposed lockdowns and curfews, the center-left Czech government – to be replaced by a center-right cabinet in the coming weeks – was less radical.

Restaurants, nightclubs and casinos will have to close between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. local from Friday. The Christmas markets are suspended and the consumption of alcohol in public spaces is prohibited.

The government also reduced the number of people who can attend parties to 100. Sports and cultural events are limited to a maximum of one thousand people.

Czechs not vaccinated or those who have not recently recovered from the disease are already banned from access to restaurants, cafes or sports facilities. The country registered more than two million infections and more than 32,500 deaths.

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