Czech weekend news in brief: Top stories for September 5, 2021

Rate of Covid-19 cases continues to rise

There were 205 Covid-19 cases in the Czech Republic yesterday, the biggest Saturday rise since the end of May, according to data release by the Health Ministry this morning. The reproduction number, indicating the average number of people infected by one positive person, has risen to 1.26. Saturday's number of cases is 72 more than one week ago.

There are currently 63 Covid-19 patients in Czech hospitals, 11 more than a week ago. Of them, 13 are in serious condition. The reproduction number has now been over 1.0 for eleven days in a row. The epidemic situation is now worst in the Karlovy Vary Region, with 32 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 population over the past seven days, followed by Prague (27 cases) and the South Bohemia Region (22 cases).

Small airplane crash near Kladno claims two lives

A small plane crashed into a field near the village Žilina yesterday afternoon, resulting in the deaths of two people who were aboard, spokespeople for emergency services, firefighters, and police have told journalists. The cause of the incident is currently being investigated.

"Twenty minutes after 2:00 p.m., we received news about the crash of a small aircraft into a non-residential area near the village Žilina," police spokesperson Lucie Novakova said. The incident near Kladno has been third crash of small aircraft in the Czech Republic this year. Last week, a small plane fell at the Brňany airport in North Bohemia, also resulting in two deaths.

Poll: Czechs split on withdrawal from Afghanistan

Around 42 percent of Czechs agree with the view that the departure of allied troops from Afghanistan is the wrong step, while 40 percent of them share the opposing viewpoint, according to a poll conducted by Median for Czech Radio.

The withdrawal from Afghanistan is mostly opposed by the voters from the Green Party, Civic Democratic Party, Christian Democrats, and TOP09, which have formed the coalition Together. It is also opposed by 55 percent of businesspeople. By contrast, voters from the Communist Party and people who are not economically active gave a positive assessment of the withdrawal.

Czech President sides with Prime Minister in dispute with his son

Czech President Miloš Zeman has expressed solidarity with Prime Minister Andrej Babiš after he was publicly confronted by his son at an election event in Ústí nad Labem on Thursday. The younger Babiš came to the opening of the ANO election campaign and caught his father, the Czech Prime Minister, by surprise. Babiš Jr. announced that he passed psychological tests that confirmed his mental health, and that he wants to testify against his father in the ongoing Stork's Nest case.

In a statement released on Twitter by spokesman Jiří Ovčáček, Zeman said he believes that Babiš Jr. is mentally ill, and the incident was organized by film director Vít Klusák. "Zeman has denounced the activities of Klusák, who organizes the conduct of the mentally ill son of the Czech prime minister," Ovčáček has tweeted.

Plzeň installs another 20 memorial stones in remembrance of Holocaust victims

An additional 20 Stolpersteine (memorial stones) commemorating victims of Nazi persecution were placed in the pavement at eight places in Plzeň, raising the total number of the stones in the city to 77, Plzeň Town Hall spokeswoman Eva Barborková told CTK.

While 15 of the new memorial stones in remembrance of Jewish Holocaust victims, the other five commemorate Roma victims. They honor the memory of local Roma residents who were interned in the concentration camp in Lety, South Bohemia, during wartime.