Daily news summary
Five Czechs killed by avalanche in Austria
A group of five Czechs died in an avalanche in the Dachstein Mountains in Austria on Sunday morning. The Austrian police confirmed that the victims were all from the Czech Republic, a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague told the Czech News Agency.
The avalanche occurred at 9:30 at an altitude of 2800 metres. Mountain rescue teams, police and several helicopters were dispatched to the scene.
Czech PM calls on Italy to bar citizens from travel over coronavirus
The Czech prime minister, Andrej Babiš, says the authorities in Italy should ban the country’s citizens from travelling abroad in view of its coronavirus crisis. Speaking in an interview for Czech Television on Sunday, Mr. Babiš said that he was not convinced that the Rome government’s decision to make 16 million people in the north of Italy stay home was a sufficient measure and that it was unclear whether the infection would only affect those under mass quarantine.
The Italian prime minister ordered around a quarter of the country’s population to stay at home after 1,200 fresh cases of Covid-19 were registered in just 24 hours. Over 230 people have died of the infection in Italy.
Thirty-one cases of coronavirus now confirmed in Czech Republic
The number of people in the Czech Republic known to be infected with the new coronavirus now stands at 31, the minister of health, Adam Vojtěch, said on Sunday afternoon. Nearly 800 people have now been examined for the infection with 200 tests carried out on Saturday alone. The first three detected cases of Covid-19 in the country were announced last Sunday.
Some 27 of the 31 cases to date have been linked to Italy, which has seen over 230 deaths caused by the coronavirus. The other four cases have been traced to the US city of Boston.
None of the patients with Covid-19 in the Czech Republic are in a serious condition. Some are being treated at Prague’s Na Bulovce hospital and a hospital in Ústí nad Labem while the number in home quarantine is rising.
Zeman celebrating seven years as Czech head of state
The Czech president, Miloš Zeman, is celebrating seven years in office on Sunday. Several hundred people are expected to attend a concert marking that landmark at Prague Castle’s Riding School entitled My Seventh Year with You. The show will take the form of a tribute to the late pop singer Karel Gott.
Mr. Zeman’s first term five-year term as head of state began on March 8, 2013.
Painted Bird big winner at Czech Lion film awards
The Painted Bird by Václav Marhoul was the big winner at the Czech Lion film awards at Prague’s Rudolfinum on Saturday night. Nominated in 11 categories, the WWII drama won nine prizes, including for best film, best director and best cinematography.
Jiří Havelka’s Owners, which had the most nominations with 12, picked up awards for best actress, best supporting actress and best screenplay, while Old-Timers by Martin Dušek and Ondřej Provazník, in the running in 10 categories, took the best actor and best supporting actor gongs.
Mild weather set to continue for one more week
The unseasonably mild weather in the Czech Republic is set to continue for another week, according to a regular four-week forecast issued by the Czech Hydro-Meteorological Institute.
Daytime highs are expected to reach around 10 degrees Celsius in the coming week, before then reverting to typical values for the time of year with the next month expected to confirm to long-term averages in both temperature and precipitation, the forecasters said.
Weather forecast
It should be overcast in the Czech Republic on Monday, with temperatures of up to 7 degrees Celsius. It is then expected to remain cloudy, with daytime highs reaching up to 15 degrees Celsius likely later in the week.
