All foreigners living legally in the country will be offered vaccination free of charge, Health Minister Adam Vojtech said today.
The only thing that they will have to pay for is the application of the vaccine itself.
Moreover, authorities said all medical personnel in hospitals, nursing, and pensioner homes will have to get tested on a weekly basis if they’re not vaccinated from next Monday, November 15.
It will also be compulsory for university students to wear respirators in teaching rooms exceeding 50 people in size, the health minister said.
The Czech Republic’s infection rate rose to 558 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days, more than double the figure recorded in neighboring Germany.
“The situation´s not good,” Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Wednesday. “We again appeal to everyone to get vaccinated.”
Babis said more measures will be approved by his Cabinet on Friday, but didn’t give details. However, he ruled out a strict lockdown.
The Czech Republic has been one of the hardest hit of the European Union´s 27 countries in the pandemic.
The country has seen almost 1.84 million confirmed coronavirus infections and 31,229 deaths, 368 of them recorded in November.
