News

A third of working Czechs have seen  their income fall since the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic first appeared in the country, a survey conducted by the agency STEM/MARK on behalf of consulting firm Ernst and Young shows. A quarter of respondents, questioned between June and July, said that their lives have changed fundamentally due to the coronavirus, but 69 percent said that they are not experiencing severe difficulties.

More than a half of respondents said that they are now more watchful about their personal hygiene and 35 percent said that they have had to limit or cut spending on leisure activities such as holidays, or the purchasing of expensive products.

Around 400 people marched through the centre of Prague to the building of the Ministry of Foreign affairs to show their solidarity with anti-regime protesters in Belarus, organisers of the Prague rally say.

The march, which began at the Klementinum building on the eastern bank of the river Vltava, was led over Charles Bridge and then through the Hradčanská neighbourhood, before culminating at the Czernin Palace which houses the Foreign Ministry.

Members of the Pirate Party and of the Million Moments for Democracy group, which is known for organising last year’s huge anti-government protests, also attended and spoke at the event. At a speech delivered in front of the Foreign Ministry, Benjamin Roll, one of the leaders of Million Moments for Democracy, said that there are dark but also hopeful parallels between Czech and Belarusian history. He urged the protestors in Belarus not to let themselves be broken.

The event was also attended by individuals carrying signs in support of President Alexander Lukashenko, who is currently the target of protests in his home country due to the allegedly fraudulent election that saw him win in a landslide with 80 percent of the vote.

Sunday is expected to be mainly cloudy, with storms likely around the Moravian city of Olomouc. Temperatures will range between 25 to 29 degrees Celsius. Central and North-West Bohemia could see open, sunny skies.

Storms are expected to hit the Czech Republic on Saturday afternoon and in the evening, with local hailstorms and torrential rains of up to 45 millimeters possibly breaking out across the country with the exception of the Moravian-Silesian Region, as well as the districts of Šumperk and Jeseník. The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute has issued a warning, saying that some smaller rivers and streams could overflow and tree branches break.