On Monday, May 10, all closed shops and several services can reopen after a few months of closure. Now, people buy clothes, electronics, or go for a massage.
Services include shoe repair shops, car bazaars, car showrooms, cable cars, solariums, watchmakers, goldsmiths, carpenters and travel agencies.
The reopening of shops takes place with strict hygiene measures remaining in place, including the ratio of one customer per 15 sq.m., and mandatory respirators and two-meter distancing.
According to the Minister of Health, Petr Arenberger (ANO), if the number of infected people continues to decline, the opening of other services could be accelerated.
This will be followed on May 17th by the reopening of outside areas of pubs and restaurants, as well as hotels and accommodation providers, which will be allowed up to 25% capacity of guests.
The Czech Association of Hotels and Restaurants also announced that it would lodge a complaint at the Supreme Administrative Court to overturn the “discriminatory” measures. The association is particularly angry at the 25% limit on hotel capacity.
The easing of measures is based on the number of newly infected in the course of a week staying below 100 per 100,000 inhabitants.
As of Monday people will no longer have to wear respirators out in the open, unless they are in crowded places, although they remain compulsory indoors.
Once-a-week testing will continue to be mandatory in workplaces until the end of June. According to the Minister of Industry and Trade, Karel Havlíček, as long as some business activities are suspended or significantly restricted by anti-epidemic measures, the state will provide support, even though the cabinet has not yet approved the extension of compensatory bonuses for the self-employed.
Latest statistics
The health ministry recorded 721 and 381 new COVID-19 infections, respectively, on Saturday and Sunday, down from 1,171 and 508 cases the previous weekend.
The official death toll has risen to 29,711, increasing by 103 since Thursday, which includes revisions to previous days, according to ministry data. Daily deaths have fallen from peaks of over 200 in March.
