According to Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlíček, the government will release scenarios of easing restrictions for shops and services after Tuesday’s (April 14) meeting.
“We will introduce release scenarios. Three waves are expected and there could be weekly or ten-day intervals. In the first weeks of May, almost everything could be open, but of course, given the development of the spread of the disease,” he added.
The government also wants to allow hospitals to carry out planned operations and not to neglect the care of people with other diseases.
Havlíček added that the government “will not solve the economic situation caused by coronavirus by raising taxes. It will be necessary to restructure the state administration budget.”
According to him, direct support to enterprises will be 100 billion crowns, indirect support in the form of guarantees of 900 billion.
Kurzarbeit will last longer
On March 19, 2020, the Czech government has approved a proposal of the Czech Minister of Labor and Social Affairs (MSPV) to help Czech workers and employers mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic.
Kurzarbeit is a measure for the Czech Labour Offices to compensate wages. This measure will help employers to manage better the current situation so that employers do not have to do layoffs.
Companies that have been forced to suspend operations as a result of the quarantine, or which have recorded a significant drop in demand for their products or services, may have their payrolls co-financed from between 60% to 100%, for the period from 12 March to the end of April in the first instance.
The Confederation of Industry called for an extension of Kurzarbeit to six months, which, however, would be very costly for the state. At the same time, however, the Minister admitted that two months of Kurzarbeit would not be enough and so it would have to be extended.
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