• Monday Covid cases one-quarter down on week earlier
    04/05/2022

    Some 6,553 new cases of Covid-19 were registered in the Czech Republic on Monday, which was a fall of around one-quarter on the same day a week earlier. There was a similar fall in suspected reinfections, to 1,275. Testing was also down.

    The seven-day case incidence rate declined to 370 per 100,000.

    On Monday there were 1,641 people in Czech hospitals with the coronavirus, roughly 500 fewer than a week earlier.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Rakušan: Govt. readying plan to integrate up to half million Ukrainians
    04/05/2022

    The minister of the interior, Vít Rakušan, says that the government is preparing a strategy that would cover the integration of up to half a million Ukrainian refugees into the Czech Republic.At present the government are working to accommodate around a quarter of a million.

    Mr. Rakušan said on Monday evening that the country was moving from a crisis situation to having to carry out long-term planning. After discussions within the coalition government his integration strategy will be presented to MPs and the public on Thursday next week.

    The Czech Republic has a population of 10.7 million.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • 260,000 Ukrainians now have special visas but numbers slowing
    04/04/2022

    The Czech Republic has now issued nearly 260,000 special visas to Ukrainian refugees, according to the Ministry of the Interior. The number a week previously was 236,000, though there has been a slow-down in daily numbers.

    Prague remains the most popular destination for refugees, with the number in the capital bearing special visas now standing at over 64,000.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Fiala congratulates Orban, calls for engagement against Russia
    04/04/2022

    The Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, has congratulated Viktor Orban on winning Sunday’s general elections in Hungary with his Fidesz party. Mr. Fiala said he believed that following the vote Budapest would actively engage in the response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

    The Czech leader said Europe had to be united and stand up for Ukraine, against which Moscow is committing war crimes.

    The Czech president, Miloš Zeman, also congratulated Mr. Orban, saying cooperation within the Visegrad Four had to be a priority.

    Some Czech political scientists have questioned whether the group, which also includes Slovakia and Poland, would continue to function as previously following the outcome of Hungary’s elections.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Fiala cancels Berlin trip after week out with Covid
    04/04/2022

    The Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, has cancelled a planned trip to Berlin on Wednesday. A spokesperson said that Mr. Fiala had been forced to call off the trip, which had been scheduled for a second time, as his busy agenda would not allow it.

    The prime minister said last Tuesday that he had tested positive for Covid and would spend a week in isolation. While at home Mr. Fiala said that he had been surprised by the intensity of the illness.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Weather forecast
    04/04/2022

    It should be mainly overcast in the Czech Republic on Tuesday, with an average high temperature of 9 degrees Celsius. Temperatures are expected to climb on the following days.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Seznam owner sending CZK 100 million to Ukraine after Bucha footage
    04/04/2022

    The owner of Czech internet giant Seznam.cz, Ivo Lukačovič, says he will send CZK 100 million of his own money to help Ukraine. Mr. Lukačovič wrote on Twitter on Monday that he could not get footage following a Russian massacre in the Ukrainian town of Bucha out of his mind.

    The billionaire businessman said he had therefore decided to send funds to help the Ukrainian government acquire arms to defend itself from Russia.

    Images of murdered civilians in Bucha have led to an international wave of condemnation of Russia.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Krejčíková back at number two in world rankings
    04/04/2022

    The Czech tennis player Barbora Krejčíková has returned to number two in the women’s singles world rankings, behind Iga Swiatek of Poland. Krejčíková previously held second place in February and has gone back to that spot, the highest in her career, despite being out at present with an elbow injury.

    Krejčíková, who is 26, was previously a doubles specialist but won the French Open in singles last year after a change of focus.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Austrian and Slovak heads of Parliament visiting Prague this Monday
    04/04/2022

    Prague is hosting a meeting of the heads of the Parliaments of Czechia, Slovakia and Austria as part of the so-called "Slavkov trilateral", a loose cooperation agreement between the three Central European countries. The three countries’ Parliamentary leaders will meet in Prague’s Lichtenstein Palace this Monday where they will be joined by their Ukrainian counterpart Ruslan Stefanchukvia video call.

    The group will also visit Prague’s Motol hospital where they will be introduced to the local “UA point”, an ambulance station focused on providing immediate medical care for Ukrainian refugees.
    Author: Thomas McEnchroe

  • Czech army contingent leaves for Slovakia where it will lead NATO battlegroup
    04/04/2022

    A Czech Army contingent is leaving for a NATO mission in Slovakia this Monday, where they will be part of a multi-national battlegroup of alliance forces numbering up to 2,100 soldiers. The Czech contingent will number at least 400 soldiers and the battlegroup as a whole will be under Czech command.

    NATO is bolstering its eastern flank in response to the worsening security situation with Russia following that country’s invasion of Ukraine.
    Author: Thomas McEnchroe

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