Belgium places Prague in “red” coronavirus category, Germany to do similar move from Thursday

Belgium has decided to place Prague in its category of “red” states. That means countries where there is a high risk of COVID-19 infection, according to the Czech Embassy in Brussels. Upon returning from the city, travellers will now have to go into a two-week quarantine and take a COVID-19 test. The rest of the Czech Republic has been placed into Belgium's "orange" category, where the test and quarantine are recomended.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš told Czech Television that he texted with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday and that Germany may also impose new conditions on traveling to Prague. The Czech News Agency wrote on Wednesday that its sources say Berlin will place Prague on its coronavirus risk list on Thursday.

On Tuesday, the number of new cases exceeded 1,000 for the first time in the Czech Republic since the pandemic arrived and the daily increases have been rising over the past weeks. Prague is the main hotspot.