Breaking: State of emergency prolonged in the Czech Republic

Prague, Nov 19 (CTK) -- The Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Czech parliament, agreed today to extend the state of emergency in the Czech Republic due to the coronavirus epidemic until Dec. 12, not until Dec. 20 as the government requested.

MPs prolonged the state of emergency by 22 days as proposed by the Communists (KSCM). The coalition government of PM Andrej Babis' ANO party and the Social Democrats (CSSD) asked for its prolongation by 30 days.

The Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and TOP 09 wanted to prolong the state of emergency until Dec. 4, the Civic Democrats (ODS) until Nov. 27, and the Pirates only until Nov. 24.

The debate on the proposal in the Chamber of Deputies lasted some 8.5 hours in the Chamber of Deputies.

Without the MPs' consent, the state of emergency would end on Friday; the state of emergency is a condition of the government's current lockdown measures.

The state of emergency is also required for all five risk levels of the anti-epidemiological system (PES) of the Health Ministry.

The Chamber of Deputies extended the state of emergency in late October by 17 days, though the cabinet requested a 30-day extension as it did this time around.

In the spring, a state of emergency was valid in the Czech Republic for 66 days between March 12 and May 17. It was extended twice with the consent of the lower house.

The government can declare the state of emergency for up to 30 days; the Chamber of Deputies must agree to its extension.

Previously, a state of emergency was declared in the Czech Republic in reaction to natural disasters, such as the floods of August 2002, April 2006, and June 2013, and following the Kyrill windstorm of January 2007.

This is a developing story, we will continue to update it as information becomes available.