Coronavirus update, Jan. 19, 2021: Stationery shops can reopen Tuesday, but schools will remain closed

Following its Monday meeting, the Czech government announced that stationery and children's clothing and footwear stores will open, and schools will remain closed.

Currently, the anti-coronavirus measures in the country remain at the strictest, fifth degree. Both Deputy Prime Minister Jan Hamáček and Health Minister Jan Blatný said the lockdown rules should not be loosened until the situation in hospitals improves.

The PES epidemic system's index has stayed at 70 points out of 100 in the Czech Republic for the third day, which means the fourth COVID risk degree for the sixth day in a row. The reproduction number, however, slightly rose again to 0.76, data released by the Health Ministry this morning shows.

Hamáček said the anti-epidemic measures be relaxed only after the daily numbers of new confirmed COVID-19 cases drop to 1,000-2,000. He said he hoped the Czech Republic would remain under the fifth alert level for some time.

The Czech government agreed to ask the Chamber of Deputies to extend the current state of emergency by 30 days due to the coronavirus pandemic, Hamáček told the Czech News Agency.

If the lower house gives its approval, the state of emergency will last until Feb, 21. It will likely discuss the proposal on Thursday.

Hamáček and Blatný said the state of emergency needs to be extended in part due to the risk of the British coronavirus variant that spreads more quickly.

The British mutation has been found in the Czech Republic, the Czech Institute of Public Health (SZÚ) spokeswoman Klára Doláková said, adding that the SZÚ laboratory detected the mutation in first samples and further samples are being examined.

Education Minister Robert Plaga said on Twitter that the present school closures will continue to be applied next week.

Health Minister Blatný originally anticipated that students in the final years of elementary and secondary schools could attend school from next week, but has now said increasing the number of students going to school would be a mistake.

Since the beginning of the year, schools have been closed to most students, who have been on the distance learning regime. Only kindergartens, schools for children with disabilities and the first and second grades of elementary schools remain open.

While schools will remain closed, stationery stores and shops with children’s clothes and shoes may reopen in the Czech Republic as of Tuesday, Minister of Trade Karel Havlíček said at yesterday's meeting. Underwear and adult shoes were not included in the exemptions as originally expected.

The plan is to vaccinate up to 10,000 people per day in the vaccination center, which will be operated by the Central Military Hospital (ÚVN), Babiš said.

Source: onemocneni-aktualne.mzcr.cz/covid-19