State of emergency likely to be extended

The government will once again ask the Chamber of Deputies for an extension of the state of emergency which now lasts until November 20.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Alena Schillerová (for ANO), cabinet members agree that it is necessary for the state of emergency to last longer. The Chamber of Deputies will probably vote on this next Thursday.

Representatives of the opposition have been criticizing the government for its confusing approach to the anti-coronavirus measures. On Friday, the Ministry of Health wants to reveal a new set of rules called PES (=DOG), which is an abbreviation of an anti-epidemic system.

It should be divided into five levels of epidemic risk. The situation will be assessed according to the incidence of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days, the rate of infection among the elderly, the virus reproduction number and the percentage share of positive results in the coronavirus tests.

The state of emergency gives the government more power to for example limit the movement of people or opening times of businesses. First Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of the Interior Jan Hamáček (ČSSD) previously said that it may be necessary for the state of emergency to last until Christmas.