Babiš calls for perseverance in fight against Covid in New Year’s speech

In a New Year’s address to the nation, the Czech prime minister, Andrej Babiš, thanks numerous groups for their efforts to fight Covid-19 and called on people to persevere in that endeavour. In a speech broadcast by a number of media outlets on Friday evening, the PM referred to the start of a vaccination programme, saying the weeks or months in which Czechs would have to grit their teeth were a small sacrifice compared to the years of lives that the country’s elderly could lose to the virus.

Mr. Babiš said he was sorry the government had been forced to place restrictions on terrible, saying that human lives and health had to take priority. It was simply an incredibly sad, difficult and depressing year, he said.