News: Wednesday, September 16th, 2020

Daily COVID-19 case increase again breaches record

A record 1,677 new cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus were detected on Tuesday, according to official Ministry of Health data. That is the third highest rise in the EU after France and Spain. It brings the tally of those currently afflicted with the virus in the Czech Republic to 15,807, with a total of 38,896 cases since COVID-19 was first registered in the country in March.

Most of those afflicted with COVID-19 are experiencing mild or no symptoms. Monday data showed that 333 patients are currently in hospital, with 78 in serious condition.

Chinese firm Zhenhua collected data on 700 Czechs for use in ‘hybrid warfare’

The Chinese company Zhenhua Data Technology, which described itself as a pioneer in the use of data for ‘hybrid warfare’, collected profiles of about 700 prominent Czechs, Aktuálně.cz reports. The counterintelligence service BIS is now looking into the case.

Before Zhenhua took down its website, it had compiled a database of Czech politicians, diplomats, security staff, academics, businesspeople and their children. The company collected mainly public open-source data on people of interest, such as photographs, social network profiles and media mentions.

The personal details of about 2.4 million people worldwide were swept up by Zhenhua, which has reported links to China’s military and intelligence networks. A copy of its Overseas Key Information Database (OKIDB) left unsecured on the Internet was retrieved by an Australian cybersecurity consultancy.

Deník N: Czech government to consider applying for membership in Arctic Council

The Czech government will discuss a possible application for membership in the high-level Arctic Council organisation that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments of the indigenous population. The daily Deník N, which broke the story on Wednesday, states that a plan is currently being formed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that the Czech Republic would like to profile itself as a country involved in finding solutions to climate change.

The paper says the Czech Republic is considering leveraging the accomplishments of its scientists.These already have a base and ship on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard and study the local seaweed, birds and the melting of icebergs.

The Arctic Circle is a strategically important region of the globe, with large reserves of oil and natural gas. However, it is also a region where climate change phenomena are especially noticeable.

Positive COVID-19 results to be sent straight from laboratories

Coronavirus testing laboratories will notify people whether their test was positive via email or text message starting Thursday, Health Minister Adam Vojtěch tweeted on Wednesday. According to Mr. Vojtěch, this new measure will enable patients to be more rapidly informed and help in curbing the spread of the disease.

Until now, people only received information about whether they had tested positive via a doctor, usually a hygienist. However, many individuals complained that this often led to delays in being notified due to the overburdening of local hygienic stations.

More than 10,000 tests are usually conducted on a daily basis since the beginning of September. The rate of those who test positive currently lies at 2.5 percent.

Lower-house approves ban on caged chicken farming from 2027

The Chamber of Deputies has voted in favour of a proposed legislation that would ban farming chickens in cages starting from the year 2027 onwards.

Those in favour of the bill argued that conditions in cages are unfitting for chickens and that data on consumer behaviour suggests people prefer buying their eggs from businesses that keep their chickens in open spaces or in halls.

Agriculture Minister Miroslav Toman argued against the bill, saying that he wanted the ban to first be passed by the European Union, as the ban could damage Czech businesses if not implemented across the union. The European Council is set to discuss the issue on Monday, he said.

Czech Television will not have to apologize to Agrofert for reporting, court rules

Czech Television will not have to issue an apology to Agrofert for connecting the company to the dismissal of the director of the Pribram Financial Administration, the Municipal Court in Prague ruled on Wednesday. The verdict is not yet final and Agrofert can appeal to the High Court in Prague.

Agrofert, the company founded by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who has since placed it in trust funds, originally issued a lawsuit against Czech Television, stating that the station’s reports broadcast as part of the Reportéři ČT programme last year had damaged the company’s reputation. However, the judge ruled that many members of the public had already noted before that Mr. Babiš was the owner of Agrofert at the time that he was finance minister and therefore that it was fair for the reporters to make such a connection.

Average mortgage rate drops to 2.11 pct, lowest level since October 2017

The average mortgage rate fell for a fifth consecutive month in August, to 2.11 percent, the lowest level since October 2017, according to data from the Fincentrum Hypoindex. Interest in mortgages was again record-breaking in August.

Banks provided 6,868 mortgages totalling 19.173 billion crowns in August. Although the volume of mortgages provided fell by almost 2.5 billion crowns compared to July, it was still the August in the history of the Hypoindex.

Since January 2019, when the average mortgage rate climbed to 3 percent from historic lows at the end of 2016, the average rate has fallen by 0.89 percentage points.

The continuous decline in the average rate since the beginning of last year was disrupted only in the first quarter of 2020, when the average rate rose by 0.1 percentage points over three months.

Newly designed Prague buses to start operating from Thursday

The first of Prague’s new visually designed buses is set to start operating from Thursday, September 17. The grey-red design will first be featured on the bus line 176, which transports passengers on the route from Karlovo náměstí to Strahov. After the new design manual is approved by the Prague Public Transit Company, every new bus will display the new pattern, Deputy Mayor for Transport Adam Scheinherr and representatives of Prague's transport announced on Wednesday.

The new bus design was approved by City Hall in August. The manual should be finished by the end of this year and will feature uniform designs for 76 of the city’s transport vehicles, Mr. Scheinherr said.

Weather

Thursday will see temperatures ranging between 19 to 23 degrees Celsius with partly cloudy skies. No rainfall is expected.