Coronavirus update, May 13, 2021: Foreign vaccination certificates won’t be recognized

Proof of vaccination will be needed not only for travel but visiting sports and cultural events and other purposes. For the time being, however, these benefits will only be available to those who have received the vaccine and certificate in the Czech Republic. The Health Ministry says it fears forged documents and is waiting for a pan-European Covid passport. A protective measure by the Health Ministry effective from May 4 that abolishes the obligation for a negative test for vaccinated people traveling to the Czech Republic from medium and high-risk countries does not apply to those who received vaccination outside the Czech Republic. EU member states are currently negotiating with the European Parliament on the form of a certificate to make it easier for people with vaccinations, negative tests or antibodies to travel across borders. Technical details are still being worked out. This is a developing story (read more via Novinky.cz, in Czech only, here).

Instead of checking for negative tests for coronavirus, it should be enough for restaurants to post a message stating that only guests who meet the conditions set by the Health Ministry will be served. Outdoor gardens at pubs and restaurants will reopen May 17. The responsibility would not fall on the operators of catering companies, it would be borne by customers. Representatives of gastronomy agreed on Wednesday with main hygienist Pavla Svrčinová, according to the Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Crafts (AMSP). Professional organizations representing entrepreneurs in gastronomy had called on the Health Ministry to issue detailed instructions on how to check test documents or vaccinations.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said the possibility of traveling abroad for children must be resolved. "We naturally do not want the families to pay something. We may have to use antigen tests for children but the question is if other countries accept them. If they accepted PCR tests only, we must find a way to pay for them," he said. In a similar way, tests for children in the Czech Republic should be covered from public health insurance, e.g. if required for summer camps and school trips, Health Minister Petr Arenberger said.

Minister of Labor Social Affairs Jana Maláčová is in favor of terminating the Antivirus program, from which the state pays wage contributions. With further dismantling and favorable epidemic developments in the Czech Republic, the cabinet would no longer want to propose further extensions, she told ČTK. The government last decided on the extension less than a month ago. The program lasted until the end of May, when it should end. According to Maláčová, the cabinet could possibly discuss the issue in about two weeks. From the Antivirus program. the state provides wage contributions to companies that have been affected by the imposed restrictions against Covid and the coronavirus crisis. Over 73,600 companies received money from the beginning to May 10, 2020. They received CZK 42.8 billion for more than 1 million workers.

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There were another 1,261 Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, about 600 fewer than a week ago, while 81,833 Czechs were inoculated, almost 2,500 more than last Wednesday and roughly 1,500 more than on Tuesday, according to Health Ministry data. On Wednesday, the number of Covid vaccinations was over 80,000 for the fourth time since the start of the vaccination in late December. Since the start of this week, people over 45 may register for the vaccination. Next week, Czechs over 40 may take part in it, too, and later everyone over 16. The reproduction number, giving the number of infected by one positively tested person, slightly fell again from 0.79 to 0.77. It has been under one, which signals the deceleration of the epidemic, for almost a month.