Thursday news summary

Covid update

Numbers have been increasing since Monday this week - on Wednesday, there 6,402 new Covid-19 cases in the Czech Republic. The Chamber of Deputies allowed the government to extend the state of emergency again. However, the Cabinet requested an extension for 30 days until the 11th of January. In the end, it will only last until the 23rd of December. The opposition was critical of the request, the extension went through only thanks to the votes of the Communist party, the other parties voted against. MEPs on Wednesday also approved stricter sanctions for non-compliance with measures against coronavirus, companies could face sanctions of up to three million crowns.

Some restaurants remained open even after the curfew

From Wednesday, restaurants, bars and other catering facilities, including service windows, must close at 20:00 at the latest. However, a number of restaurants throughout the country remained open in protest after 8 pm, so the police called on the owner to close the businesses. In addition, there is a ban on alcohol consumption in public.

Three-fifths of Czechs are satisfied with the EU

Most Czechs have been satisfied with the Czech Republic's membership in the European Union since 2010. This emerges from a survey by the STEM agency at the turn of October and November. In the current survey, 57 percent of Czechs expressed satisfaction with EU membership. Satisfaction with EU membership has gradually declined from a record 69 percent in 2009 after the onset of the global economic crisis. It fell the lowest in 2016, when only 35 percent of people were satisfied. However, most people in the Czech Republic still think that the Czech government cannot influence what is happening in the EU.

British Embassy in Prague will be lit in blue and green

On Saturday, the entire Thun Palace, the seat of the United Kingdom Embassy in Prague, will light up for the first time in history. The palace will be illuminated in blue and green to mark the anniversary of the Paris Agreement and global efforts to mitigate man-made climate change. The Embassy informed about it on Twitter.

The Paris Agreement was adopted at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on the 12th of December 2015.

Under the Agreement, the Czech Republic, as a member of the EU, has agreed with other EU member states to jointly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990.