Weekly news on the coronavirus in the Czech Republic from November 29 to December 5, 2021

Companies that have limited production and services due to the ongoing epidemic can once again get subsidies offsetting the salaries of the anti-virus program, the Czech government decided today. They will receive 60 percent of wages paid up to CZK 29,000. They will be able to obtain it for the period between November 1 and the end of February. The program aims to prevent mass layoffs. Some 1.4 billion CZK will be set aside for the program. The money will come mainly from European funds.

Vaccination against Covid should be mandatory for health and social service workers, members of the rescue system, prison service staff, soldiers, some volunteer firefighters and people over 60, agreed today. hui the Czech Crisis Staff. The Ministry of Health should draft a directive on compulsory vaccination. It would be up to the aforementioned body directors to persuade their subordinates to be vaccinated. Czech police president Jan Švejdar said last week that police could lose up to 10,000 agents opposed to vaccination. He said he cannot imagine the compulsory vaccination of the police.

The Czech Republic is removing Hong Kong from its travel card for green countries or regions at low risk of coronavirus infection as early as Tuesday in reaction to the new Omicron variant. Hong Kong will turn dark red, or high risk. The Department of Health normally makes decisions on Fridays for the whole week.

Japan will be closed to foreigners because of the new variant of the coronavirus from Tuesday. The Philippines on Sunday suspended flights from seven European countries, including the Czech Republic.

Liberec hospital today confirmed that a woman has contracted the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. It is the first confirmed case of this variant in the Czech Republic. Outgoing Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said on Twitter on Saturday that the woman had returned from Namibia via South Africa and Dubai. She has been vaccinated and is in isolation. Nova TV said the woman was 60 and lived in Liberec. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers the Omicron variant, which was first detected in South Africa on November 9, as alarming because it is potentially more transmissible than the other variants.

Chief hygienist Pavla Svrčinová has tested positive for the coronavirus. Svrčinová will remain isolated for two weeks, she has no symptoms of the disease. On Sunday, outgoing Health Minister Adam Vojtěch announced a positive Covid test. He has a moderate class and wants to work from home.

Four people from Prague traveled with the woman from the Liberec region who is likely to have contracted the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Of the four, two have a full vaccination, one is within 180 days of being ill with COVID, and the fourth has not been vaccinated. Public health officials have ordered their quarantine and testing. The office is still awaiting the results of their tests. The woman, who returned from Namibia, was traveling with eight other people from the Czech Republic. Along with Prague, they were also originally from the regions of central Bohemia and Olomouc.

People over 60 and chronically ill people will be able to register for the third dose of the covid vaccine from Monday if they are five months after the second vaccination. It was originally scheduled to open on December 1. Outgoing Prime Minister Andrej Babiš announced on social media that computer systems had managed to prepare for the new wave of registrations faster. According to him, the government is preparing to expand vaccination capacities. He also said that in addition to the proven Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, the Czech Republic wants to involve the Moderna vaccine more. It will be distributed at the new Černý Most vaccination center in Prague.

A new vaccination center without registration opens today in the shopping center of erný Most. There are already a total of 16 places in the metropolis where it is possible to get vaccinated without prior registration. These are, for example, the Vyšehrad Congress Center, the Vinohrady University Hospital, the Nuselská Polyclinic and the General University Hospital. People can find a list of all vaccination sites in Prague without needing to register here, at the end of the press release. At the same time, it is also possible to use the reservation center for vaccines.

The government will examine today whether, due to the effects of the Covid epidemic on the Czech economy, it will renew part of the antivirus program in accordance with the proposal of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Companies with limited production and services could again receive 60 percent of the wage compensation paid up to CZK 29,000. Unions and employers have already requested a renewal of the membership fee. According to European rules, it is possible to provide support to companies until the end of June next year. So far, over 50 billion CZK has been paid by Antivirus.

The results of new comprehensive measures against the spread of the coronavirus valid from Friday should be assessed in 10 to 14 days, outgoing Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch said on Czech television. According to him, the trend of the epidemic will be evident next week. According to Vojtěch, the risk scenarios for the course of the epidemic envision the peak of the epidemic around the Christmas holidays.

Another round of Covid tests is taking place today in primary and secondary schools. Like last week, this applies to unvaccinated people who have not had a new coronavirus infection in the past 180 days. Schools have stocks of state antigen tests for testing students, and they must provide tests to unvaccinated teachers themselves. According to the government’s decision, the tests will continue in the coming weeks, and should always be repeated on Monday until the end of February.

Employers are to perform the first round of testing on unvaccinated workers today. The tests, in particular by means of antigenic self-test kits, are obligatory once a week. It applies to all types of businesses, including sole proprietorships, and applies to government agencies and municipalities. People who work from home and those who do not interact with other people at work do not need to be tested.

France, Spain, Portugal, Azores and Monaco will switch from medium-risk orange to high-risk red on the latest Covid-19 travel card, the Czech Ministry of Health has announced. Travelers without proof of vaccination or recovery coming from these countries to the Czech Republic will face more stringent restrictions from today. Other countries have also changed color on the last map, but travel conditions in the Czech Republic will not be affected. See our full story here.