Tuesday news summary

Some shops might open next week

The government will meet on Sunday to discuss possible further relaxation of measures, so that shops or service establishments can open from Monday, said the Minister of Health Jan Blatný (for ANO). The current risk score in the anti-epidemic system (PES) is at the third level out of five. Risk number is 57 now. The decrease in the degree of PES is also associated with the relaxation of measures.

Non acute operations can go on

The government has cancelled a regulation banning hospitals from providing non-urgent surgeries. Hospitals can already perform scheduled operations, but must maintain backups for patients with Covid-19, according to the Minister of Health Jan Blatný (for ANO). Some hospitals have already begun resuming planned operations. For example, the University Hospital in Motol stated that it would start orthopedic procedures. Other medical facilities were already preparing for the Ministry's decision.

The Bakery Penam will not get funding from the EU

The European Commission will not reimburse the European subsidy of 100 million crowns, which the Czech Republic has already given for the construction of a line for the production of toast bread in the bakery of Penam. According to Brussels, the project was not innovative.

Penam has belonged to Agrofert holding since 2004. The owner was Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (YES), later he invested the company in trust funds. According to Brussels officials, the fact that Penam's project for the toast bread line was not innovative was confirmed by three independent opinions, which are mentioned in the current analysis of the alleged conflict of Babiš's interests sent to Prague in October.

Historical success of Czech series

The International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has announced the Czech internet series #martyisdead as the winner of the International Emmy Award. The thriller is about cyberbullying and produced by Mall.TV and the Bionaut company. It is historically the first Czech series to win the so-called television Oscar. It can be viewed HERE and offers also English subtitles.