Czech residents may have to register to go to a restaurant, says Health Minister

Prague, Oct 1 (CTK) - Czech residents will have to register when visiting restaurants and pubs in order to facilitate tracing of the incidence and spread of COVID-19 under a plan unveiled by Health Minister Roman Prymula (for ANO) in the Czech Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Czech parliament, today.

Similar measures are also in effect in Germany and Britain.

"We plan [a system] under which people who go to a restaurant will write down their name," Prymula said without elaborating on the date of the introduction of the measure.

Prymula also said he was about to launch a massive campaign to spread more information about the mobile application eRouška (eMask), now used by about 560,000 people.

The existing campaign has been insufficient. The application helps trace possible contact with those infected with coronavirus, he added.

When it comes to the capacity of hospitals, the data is provided by the hospitals themselves, doctors and emergency services, Prymula said.

"As of Monday, the system will be interconnected so that every (participant in the system) will see everyone," Prymula said.

Data on the total capacity of hospitals will be released once a week, but not that of individual hospitals. The reason is that people might start choosing the hospital they would like to be taken to, he added.