When travelling between districts

People who need to travel between districts can present the purpose of their trip in both electronic and paper form, Czech police says.

From Monday, March 1, those travelling outside of the district they live in need a valid reason to do so. Among those are going to work, to the doctor or caring for a loved on. However, it is obligatory to carry for example a confirmation from the employer or a sworn statement with the reason, time and destination of the trip.

According to the Minister of Interior Jan Hamáček (ČSSD), the police initially wanted the confirmations in paper for hygienic reasons as officers should stay at least 1.5 metres away and a confirmation on a mobile phone is difficult to read at this distance. Therefore, this option is still preferred.

However, the government decree only states that a written confirmation is needed - and electronic form will be accepted as well. TOP 09 MP Dominik Feri thinks this should be the preferred way so nobody would have to "hand over dirty paper." He also said that while not everyone had a printer at home, almost everybody carries a cell phone.

On Monday - during the first day this measure was in place - police officers checked more than 53,000 vehicles travelling between districts. In 1,527 cases they prevented people from entering the district they were going to.