Chit Chat
Country eases coronavirus measures after quick response helped it limit cases to 7,400
Many shops outside shopping malls are reopening in the Czech Republic after the government brought forward its five-stage lockdown exit plan, amid reports that the British government is closely watching the country’s back-to-business strategy.
Under increasing pressure to lift parts of the UK’s lockdown and limit the damage to the economy, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, is understood to be studying the Czech Republic’s approach to lifting the tight restrictions it imposed earlier than most countries further west, which have helped it limit cases to 7,400, with just 221 deaths.
Prague was one of the few governments to declare a state of emergency before the country had recorded its first coronavirus death. By 11 March it had closed all schools, limited public gatherings, banned all public events, sealed its borders and shuttered all non-essential stores. It also made face masks obligatory in public.
Early this month it became the first European country to relax its restrictions, initially by allowing citizens to cycle, jog and walk in the countryside without wearing their masks, as long as they stayed 2 metres apart.
Some sports facilities, such as tennis courts and golf courses, were allowed to reopen as long as no more than two people played together, and selected non-essential shops – including cycle stores, repair shops and hardware and DIY stores – also returned to business on 9 April.
On 15 April the government unveiled a detailed five-step plan to reopen the broader economy, with the deputy prime minister, Karel Havlíček, dividing businesses and activities into five main groups which would reopen their doors in stages over the following eight weeks.
Craft shops, car dealerships and farmers’ markets were the first to reopen from 20 April, with smaller shops outside shopping malls scheduled to follow on 27 April, then larger shops outside malls, driving schools and fitness centres.
The final stages were to happen in late May and early June, with restaurants allowed to serve customers outside, and hairdressers and beauty salons permitted to reopen, followed by shopping malls. Bars and restaurants were to be allowed to resume indoor service by 9 June, with hotels also allowed to reopen.
Public amenities and meeting places, such as museums and galleries, as well as cultural venues including theatres, would be among the last facilities to reopen, while schools were to start returning from 11 May. Havlíček stressed that the government reserved the right to adjust its dates.
As its infection curve continued to fall, however, the government last Thursday brought forward its exit plan, speeding up the process. Most venues are now to reopen two weeks earlier than initially planned, with gyms and all stores smaller than 2,500sq m outside shopping malls allowed to reopen on Monday.
The five-stage plan is now a four-stage plan: outdoor restaurant and bar areas reopen from 11 May, along with hairdressers and beauty salons, with restaurants expected to resume indoor service and hotels allowed to reopen from 25 May, two weeks earlier than the previous 8 June date.
The government also unexpectedly announced it would open its borders for outbound foreign travel after recording a decline in the number of infections. The health minister, Adam Vojtěch, said returning travellers would have to prove they were uninfected or spend 14 days in quarantine.
Face masks will remain mandatory until the end of June, but restrictions are being eased on movement within the country, with groups of up to 10 now permitted to gather, compared with a previous limit of two.
The full breakdown of the country’s lockdown exit plan is as follows:
Already open (since 20 April):
- Craftspeople and tradespeople with shops
- Farmers’ markets
- Car dealerships
- Weddings for up to 10 people
27 April:
- Most shops below 2,500sq m, unless in big shopping malls
- Driving schools
- Gyms, although changing rooms and showers remain closed
- Libraries
- Outdoor areas of zoos and botanical gardens
- Church services for fewer than 15 people
11 May:
- Retail stores in malls
- Retail stores larger than 2,500sq m outside malls
- Hairdressers, beauty salons, massage parlours
- Outdoor and garden areas of restaurants, pubs and cafes
- Museums, galleries, and art halls
25 May:
- Indoor service in restaurants, bars and cafes
- Hotels
- Taxis
- Theatres
- Tattooists
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Be good if we could follow the Same route , I am afraid they are going to have to be cruel to be kind ,Large areas of UK could re open as is ,masks SD Etc , Places where numbers are high remain under Longer Lockdown ,Vulnerable also ring fenced , we have to move forward and soon ..
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There appears to be a lot of reluctance to go down a regional route.
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well, well, well. did the czechs wait for evidence or did they follow the precautionary principle? they locked down early and mandated mask wearing in public.
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not suprising are you going to put roadblocks up like in miners strike,and if so how do workers who live in one area and work in another get to work,traffic jams everywhere
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south west fewest cases,tourisim no one employer,should that be open to holiday makers
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Seems Redicuous Ang ,N Eire very few cases 10 deaths today ,Some kind of plan is needed at the end of these 3 weeks ,Zero deaths I would think Many months if not years away ??
Some sort of Normality needs to return , Just went shopping No queue  2nd time in last 2 weeks |
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Taxis are still running up Here don't think they stopped ? is it same across the UK ??
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i could work my cab in london but put my elf and safet first (dont think there is any work anyway).
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It was actions by the public that accelerated the lockdown and if there isn't a government plan for unwinding the lockdown, the public will put it in place for them.
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Well you have a screen in the Cab Jolly , but not sure what they are doing here Hard to keep 2 meters apart in a motor
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i know at least one cabbie died of it, maybe he got it from handling money???
definitely glad of a screen though, a bit bored now so may try soon but i dont think there is much work at all. edy, german humour not as good as austrian humour, imo. |
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 What is elf? |
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The trouble is that you can't go down the same route as Czech Republic, Austria or any other country that locked down long before we did. Austria, Czech Rep, Germany, Norway, New Zealand, South Korea and a number of other countries have options regarding the easing of restrictions that we do not have because we left it too late to lockdown.
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Hard to change route now as we let it widely spread and then did a 'lockdown' but still had 10m people carrying on going out as key workers.
It is a bit shambles as a lot now scared to go out due to all the fear when actually very low number of under 40s with no health problems running into trouble with it. |
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health if you dont pronounce your h = elf.
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ok, thanks
Maybe I should've thought of that. I know the phrase "health and safety", but I thought it was some super fancy abbreviation. Even googled "elf cab" and "elf car" for hints what it could be.  There's a rather fancy 3-wheeler called ELF. |
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Germany locked down on 22nd March.
New cases peaked 27th March. Too soon to show lock down had any effect whatever on the decline given the incubation period. Sensible distancing measures a good idea. 'lock down' the population outside those at risk is makes no real difference if you look country by country. |
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You have to applaud the Czechs.
First they had the Velvet Revolution when they peacefully agreed to a split between them and Slovakia. They they put 2 fingers up to the EU , when they said no to forced immigration And now they have shown up as one of the best in Europe to deal with the Corona virus. Could we put in a bid football style to buy some of their leaders? |
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I remember when Frank Zappa ran as vice President.
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I wouldn’t travel on public transport. I wouldn’t sit inside a pub. I have this weekend sat outside a pub and they weren’t even open!
Sunak is right to look at other countries to see how we could unlock. I would reopen the country. Construction, road, rail first. Outdoor people. Other sectors need to say what they want. Obviously they are concerned with a second peak or wave so they would need to monitor the situation closely. |
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It's a bit more differentiated than that in Germany. 22nd might have been when the states and federal government came forward with a joint plan, but stuff had been done on state level before that (disease control is the constitutional responsibility of the states).
This included things like school and restaurant closures, banning travelers from other states or countries |
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You say cheery, I say cherry
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To Des, not me
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OK, I accept that error, but my point still stands.
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The UK is in the ballpark of other Western countries that are comparable. Germany is an outlier in doing well, but it had a huge testing infrastructure by coincidence so the success can be explained and couldn't have been replicated here. The overall cost of the pandemic can't be measured yet.
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Some of the experts I have heard on Radio are quite prepared to compare the UK with countries like Austria when advocating an early exit strategy. But the comarison doesn't seem to work the other way when it is pointed out that the Uk didn't act as quickly as they did. Either Austria are comparable to us or not, surely.
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edy
Date Joined: 13 Dec 06 Blogger: edy's blog Add contact | Send message 27 Apr 20 18:25 Joined: 13 Dec 06 | Topic/replies: 225,907 | Blogger: edy's blog It's a bit more differentiated than that in Germany. 22nd might have been when the states and federal government came forward with a joint plan, but stuff had been done on state level before that (disease control is the constitutional responsibility of the states). This included things like school and restaurant closures, banning travelers from other states or countries ^ Bavaria was the first state to lockdown on 20th March. Still not enough time to explain it having any effect on the decline in cases in Germany. |
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Perhaps the population of Germany were already competent in how to wash their hands.
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My point was one of simple logic. Not meant to be political at all. I wish we could ease the restrictions as quickly as Czech Rep or Austria. I would like to get back to making money, visiting friends and playing golf. The fact is I can't.
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Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein banned travelers from other states from the 18th and 17th respectively. A lot of states closed schools on the 16th (which meant people from non-essential jobs were allowed to, or had to, stay home)
What Germany also did, maybe differently to other countries, was that people were allowed to call in sick if they suspected to have caught it, without having to first go to a doctor. |
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*closed schools and Kindergardens on the 16th
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TFL has furloughed people, unions pushing for members to stay at home. Navigating public transport in London is going to be a big barrier to easing restrictions.
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10 people turned back at weekend for travelling 250 mile to climb a mountain
what do you think would happen if different parts of the country were opened up at different times,there,d be people travelling here ,there and everywhere, with little in the way of checking if they should be there so if you are living in a relatively virus free area , why the fook would you want it advertised on national news ,encouraging people from maybe the worst hit area to descend on you, it would be akin to letting old people back into care homes untested |