Czech morning news in brief: top headlines for July 5, 2021

Good Will Days at Velehrad celebrate Saints Cyril and Methodius, Archbishop Stojan

The 22nd annual Days of People of Good Will festival in Velehrad commemorates the arrival of Slav missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius, who share a Czech national holiday on July 5. This year, the festival also celebrates Antonín Cyril Stojan, who was named Olomouc archbishop 100 years ago; an exhibition on his life and work opened at the event on Sunday.

Stojan (1851-1923) brought Western and Eastern Christians together and was a patriot and an active politician. He was buried in the royal chapel at the Velehrad church. At the opening of the exhibition on Sunday, Cardinal Dominik Duka said Stojan was a man who founded 20th century spirituality in Moravia. "He led the Catholic church in the hardest times after the breakup of Austria-Hungary and the foundation of the state that was in much more complicated situations than we are now,“ Duka said.

Covid-19 checks at Slovak border to be more intensive from today

Police will start carrying out more intensive checks for required coronavirus documents for people entering Slovakia as of Monday, July 5, tvnoviny.sk writes, citing Slovak Police spokesperson Denisa Bárdyová. Border checks will be carried out in selected trains and at train stations, she said. The stricter checks will also be carried out in airports.

Bárdyová added that police officers will check for mandatory registration on the e-Hranica website during the security controls. She said that police will also check for the digital EU coronavirus passport. Some smaller border crossings will be closed. Truckers and freight trains will be exempted from the stricter checks.

First mass celebrated in church damaged by tornado in Moravian village

People in Moravská Nová Ves attended church on Sunday for the first time after a tornado hit the village ten days ago. The town's church has been seriously damaged; the tornado destroyed its roof and the roof frames, the spire atop its tower is missing, and some of its windows are broken. The church clock is stopped at half past seven, which is the time the tornado hit on the evening on Thursday, June 24. Trees that used to surround the church have been uprooted or broken by the storm.

Last Sunday, mass was celebrated outside. Yesterday's mass was also scheduled to take place outdoors, but ultimately even volunteers who helped clear rubble in the village were able to attend mass in what remains of the building. During a sermon, the priest tried to encourage perseverance and strength and warned against bitterness and envy.

Festival of Czech culture to be held in Banat, Romania in August

A music festival will be held in the Banat region in Romania this summer and support the Czech ethnic minority that lives there, unlike last year when it could not be held because the borders were closed due to the coronavirus epidemic.

A train with 1,200 musicians and visitors will leave Prague for Eibental, Romania on August 17. Along with Czech bands that include Zrni, PSH, Vasilův Rubáš and Švihadlo, journalist Jindřich Šídlo, investigative reporter Janek Rubeš, explorer Ladislav Zibura, YouTuber Karel "Kovy" Kovář and surgeon Tomáš Šebek will also take part in the festival. A truck from Paralelní Polis will features talks about sustainability, and five theater groups will also perform at the festival.

Survey: Czech healthcare system lacks doctors, nurses

Czech political parties running in the autumn general election consider a lack of doctors and nurses and insufficient computer technology to be the main problems of the country's healthcare system, according to a CTK survey. The parties differ in their proposals of how to get more money to the healthcare system. but all of them mentioned a long-term lack of doctors and nurses among the main problems.

The ANO party, which is in charge of the Health Ministry, says the establishment and maintenance of doctors’ offices needs to be subsidized, the number of students at medical faculties raised through advertising campaigns, and the conditions for new doctors improved.