Shops may open before Christmas

As the R-number dropped below 1, there is hope stores may reopen before Christmas - says the Minister of Trade and Industry Karel Havlíček.

Havlíček (for ANO) did not want to estimate exactly when the reopening could happen. Most of the shops have been closed since October 22. The Minister of Culture Lubomír Zaorálek (ČSSD) said today that museums, galleries and bookstores could open at the beginning of December.

The epidemic has been slowing down for several days. According to the Institute of Health Information and Statistics (ÚZIS), the reproduction number which indicates how many other people one Covid-positive person infects fell to 0.8 this week.

Despite the positive trend, experts stress that it is necessary for the anti-coronavirus measures to continue. The Ministry of Health is expected to introduce a new system on Friday that should specify under which conditions the rules could be relaxed.

The Minister of Health Jan Blatný (for ANO) said that he would propose a 30-day extension of the state of emergency which now lasts until November 20. The Chamber of Deputies will probably vote on this next Thursday.