News: Saturday, March 20th, 2021

Weekday new Covid cases below 10,000 for first time in over month

Some 9,624 new cases of Covid-19 were registered in the Czech Republic on Friday, a fall of around 5,300 on the previous Friday. It was the first time the number for a weekday was below 10,000 since the middle of February.

The number of recorded Covid deaths has now reached 24,530, according to official Ministry of Health data.

The reproduction number has fallen to 0.87. The last time it was below 0.90 was at the end of January.

Tender to supply Covid tests for schools announced

On Friday night the State Material Reserves Administration announced a tender to supply five million antigen Covid tests for Czech schools, news outlets reported. Only firms offering testing kits that have already been approved may enter the competition, which closes on Tuesday at noon.

The government decided on Thursday that the State Material Reserves Administration would be charged with acquiring the coronavirus tests for schools.

The company that wins the tender will have to supply 1.5 million tests by the end of March and deliver the rest by April 12.

Coalition parties reach agreement on short-time working bill

After months of dispute on the matter, governing parties ANO and the Social Democrats have drafted a joint bill on short-time working, under which the state would cover part of the salaries of firms in difficulty, Czech Television reported. The legislation could go before MPs before the end of March, Czech TV said. Opposition parties back the idea on principle.

The government first submitted a bill on short-time working to the lower house in September. Since then many modifications have been to the legislation, which may have difficulty winning approval.

Klaus suggests electoral alliance of son’s party and Okamura

Former president Václav Klaus has floated the idea of an electoral alliance of his son Václav Klaus Jr.’s Tricolour party and Tomio Okamura’s Freedom and Direct Democracy. In a statement released by the Václav Klaus Institute the ex-head of state called for a coalition of groupings “concerned about civil liberties”, such as the two parties.

An opinion poll last weekend suggested Freedom and Direct Democracy enjoyed 11 percent support. Tricolour did not make the five-percent cut-off to reach the lower house in the survey.

The Pirates and the Mayors & Independents have already formed a coalition to contest October’s elections, as have the Civic Democrats, the Christian Democrats and TOP 09.

Prague police raid two restaurants and one bar

Police in Prague raided two restaurants and one bar that were open on Friday night in breach of restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19. They found a total of 67 people in the three spots.

The restaurants were in Pragues 2 and 6, while the bar was on the city’s Old Town Square. Officers had to force a lock in order to gain entrance to the bar, where they also discovered cocaine.

Samková seals overall victory in Snowboard Cross World Cup for third time

Eva Samková has taken the Crystal Globe for overall first place in the Snowboard Cross World Cup for the third time. The Czech, who is 27, sealed victory by topping the podium at the final World Cup event of the season at Veysonnaz in Switzerland on Saturday; it was her 17th career first place in the Snowboard Cross World Cup.

Temperatures set to reach up to 15 degrees next week

Temperatures in the Czech Republic could rise to up to 15 degrees Celsius by the end of next week, according to a regular four-week outlook issued by the Czech Hydro-Meteorological Institute. Forecasters say that it should gradually get warmer over the coming month, with significant fluctuations in temperature unlikely.

Both temperatures and precipitation should correspond to the long-term averages for the time of year in the next four weeks.

Kintera best-selling contemporary Czech artist at auction

Krištof Kintera is the contemporary Czech artist whose work has earned the most at auction, the Czech News Agency reported, citing art market expert Jan Skřivánek. Between 2011 and last year collectors spent over CZK 12.5 million on 150 pieces by the sculptor. Last year Kintera sold one work in his Postnaturalia series for CZK 114,000 at auction.

The second best-selling Czech artist at auction is Federico Diaz, with CZK 8.3 million, followed by Pasta Oner on CZK 7.3 million.

Weather forecast

It should be mainly overcast in the Czech Republic on Sunday, with an average temperature of 2 degrees Celsius. More cloudy weather is expected on the following days, but it will gradually become warmer.