Wearing facemasks on Czech public transport may be mandatory in autumn, Health Minister says

Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch said it may be mandatory to wear facemasks when taking public transport as of October, when the normal seasonal flu could compound health risks stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

Vojtěch said during a tour of Diana Biotechnologies, a firm developing a new device for testing Covid-19 samples, that the incidence of the disease and common respiratory infections will determine whether such a step is necessary.

At present, facemasks are mandatory only in the Prague metro and in public transport in areas with high infection rates in the Moravian-Silesian and Jihlava regions. In addition, they must be worn in homes for the elderly, inpatient facilities, and at indoor events with more than 100 attendees.

On Monday 64 more cases of coronavirus were reported in the Czech Republic. Since testing began in March, 13,238 people have contracted the disease, of whom 8,373 have recovered. To date, 353 people infected with Covid-19 have died.