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A spike in known Covid-19 cases and subsequent restrictions are leading Czechs to stock up on medical supplies, iDnes.cz reported. Pharmacies are reporting increased sales of facemasks, respirators, anti-bacterial hand wash, hand sanitizer and vitamin supplements, the news site said.

However, unlike in March, when the cornoavirus was first detected in the Czech Republic, they say they now have sufficient stocks to meet demand.

Since Saturday it has been compulsory to wear facemasks at indoor events attended by over 100 people.

The total number of detected cases of Covid-19 in the Czech Republic has passed 15,000, according to data from the Ministry of Health. On Friday 281 new cases of the coronavirus were recorded to raise the total to 15, 081. The number of known cases currently stands at 5,290, which is a record.

Following a recent spike in figures new measures came into effect on Saturday. It is now compulsory to wear facemasks at indoor events attended by over 100 people. From Monday the maximum attendance at such events will be halved to 500.

The mayor of Prague, Zdeněk Hřib, says the city’s authorities are not planning a major increase in the price of a yearly pass for the city’s public transport system. It had been reported that a one-year pass would cost CZK 5,500 next year, up from the current CZK 3,650. Mr. Hřib told Czech Radio this had been an “extreme” possibility considered with a view to boosting the Prague transport authority’s revenues.

However, it is not now on the table and instead councilors are considering raising the price of an annual pass by just CZK 365, meaning by one crown a day, he said.

The minister for regional development, ANO appointee Klára Dostálová, says the government is planning a massive spending campaign to encourage Czechs to holiday domestically in view of the coronavirus crisis. Responding to a report that her ministry was planning to put CZK 2 billion into such a drive, Ms. Dostálová told news site Deník N that that amount quoted was only for orientation and that the actual sum could be less or more. The minister said the idea was for Czechs not to travel to the Alps but instead vacation in the Krkonoše Mountains or Šumava.

She denied suggestions the advertising campaign would in effect be a form of support for the media; a number of media outlets were bought some years ago by PM Andrej Babiš of ANO.