State begins delivering face masks and respirators to seniors

All Czech citizens over the age of 60 will receive a free respirator and five face masks from the state, the government decided late on Wednesday. The author of the proposal, Interior Minister Jan Hamáček, tweeted that, starting Thursday, the supplies will be handed over to Czech Post which will subsequently deliver them to households. According to Czech Statistics Agency data for 2019, 2,78 million over 60-year-olds live in the country, that means roughly 2,8 million respirators and 14 million masks should be handed out.

According to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, the Czech state has 13 million FFP2 respirators and 75 million face masks which are either in storage or have been ordered.

The move has been criticised by main opposition party leader Petr Fiala of the Civic Democrats, who said that the move is a “joke on the public”. According to Mr. Fiala the government has not delivered on its promise of a functioning “smart quarantine” system.