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At the turn of the 1990s the Czechoslovak Ministry of Finance, headed at the time by Václav Klaus, gave the Soviet Union a loan of around USD 1.3 billion, the newspaper Hospodářské noviny reported on Tuesday. The loan, provided on the basis of a deal agreed by a Czechoslovak Communist government headed by Ladislav Adamec, became part of a multi-billion dollar Russian debt, only part of which was ever repaid.

Mr. Klaus – who became minister of finance during the Velvet Revolution of late 1989, following the replacement of the Adamec government – told Hospodářské noviny he was unaware of any such covert loan.

In June health insurance companies in the Czech Republic will cover the cost of two PCR tests for Covid-19 and four antigen tests for the virus, the minister of health, Petr Arenberger, said after a cabinet meeting on Monday.

The minister told reporters that during the summer holidays there would be a special system under which travellers would be able to get tested for free, adding that this needed to be discussed in greater detail by the government.

Mr. Arenberger also said that things would be made easier in future by a European “green certificate” that could be used during international travel; the Czech one should be available to download from June 1.

The Czech minister of foreign affairs, Jakub Kulhánek, summoned Belarus’s ambassador to Prague on Monday in connection with the forcing down of a commercial aeroplane and the detention of dissident Roman Protasevich a day earlier. In a discussion with the envoy, a Czech deputy foreign minister, Jan Kohout, protested strongly against the suspected violation of international aviation law, which he said could not go unanswered.

The Czech authorities say they will insist on a thorough international investigation of the incident, which they said endangered the lives of passengers and crew. Prague will coordinate all responses with its EU partners.

Theatres, cinemas and concert halls have been allowed to reopen in the Czech Republic following a break of several months due to the Covid situation. Maximum attendance of 500 is now permitted at arts events, while venues may not be filled above half of total capacity. Most theatres say they will start up again from June.

Outdoor culture events are now allowed to welcome 1,000 people, up from the 700 when they commenced last Monday.

Attendance at all shows is dependent on visitors having a negative Covid test, having undergone a first vaccination at least three weeks previously or having had the virus in the previous 180 days.