Czech morning news in brief: top stories for Jan. 14, 2021

Germany's new travel restrictions will not apply to Czech commuters, for whom conditions will remain unchanged for now and they will not need a negative COVID test every 48 hours, the Czech Foreign Ministry told CTK. Prague expects the conditions for the Czechs commuting to work in Germany will be clarified in the near future, the ministry said. "The conditions will depend, among others, on how the epidemiological situation will develop in Czechia. We will continue negotiating with Germany about details of its directive," it said. As of Thursday, Germany will require a negative test from those arriving from infection high-risk regions including the Czech Republic, and from regions where the coronavirus mutation has appeared.

It should be ruled out that due to the high number of COVID patients doctors were forced to choose whom to provide with an instrument and service and whom not, Czech Health Minister Jan Blatný (for ANO) told journalists. He said if beds are completely full somewhere, doctors should ensure the transport to a different region. Blatný "strongly dismissed" information that in some facilities, doctors had to choose the patients whom they would help at the cost of the rest. "It is not true that in this country doctors have to make any selection. I insist absolutely on this," he added. Read more here.

Avalanche danger in the Krkonoše Mountains has increased to the second degree from a five-point scale after heavy snowfall. In the last 24 hours, about 30 centimeters of snow have fallen on the mountains. "There are 40 to 70 centimeters of snow on the ridges of the Giant Mountains," said Robert Dlouhý, an avalanche specialist of the Giant Mountains Mountain Service. In the second avalanche stage, the conditions for hiking are mostly safe. Due to the coronavirus epidemic, the operation of ski resorts and other tourist services has been stopped by a government decree since December 27. The movement of tourists in the mountains on foot or on cross-country skis is not limited. See the full story here.

Czech President Milos Zeman hopes that along with the administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, the USA will reconsider its position on the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan, the chairman of the Czech Chamber of Deputies, Radek Vondracek (ANO), told CTK after their lunch today. Outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump promised to pull out the troops from Afghanistan, but Zeman disagrees with the idea. Vondracek said during the lunch they had discussed Biden's coming to power and the continued withdrawal of the U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Read more here.

The National Sports Agency (NSA) has investigated the relationship of Czechs to sports and how, according to them, individual sports are attractive from the spectator's point of view and from the point of view of participation. The research is one of the criteria for the distribution of funds under the support for sports associations 2021 scheme. Respondents evaluated individual sports from two perspectives. First, depending on the extent to which they are attracted to them from the viewer's point of view. And secondly, in terms of actively engaging in them themselves. Czechs prefer to watch ice hockey, followed by skiing, athletics, tennis, and biathlon.