Czechia dropping requirement for self-isolation after Covid-19 diagnosis

Czechia will soon make it no longer mandatory to self-isolate after a positive Covid-19 diagnosis. The deliberate spreading of Covid-19 will also no longer be classed as a crime.

Over three years after the beginning of the pandemic, doctors in Czechia will recommend the wearing of masks in public for Covid-19-infected people, rather than staying in isolation. 

At present, those who are diagnosed with Covid-19 are obligated to remain home for seven days.

The Ministry of Health is set to remove Covid-19 from the country’s list of infectious diseases around the middle of April. Owing to its low hospitalization and death rates – combined with widspread vaccination – the ministry says that the virus is no longer as harmful as other diseases on the list, such as cholera. 

The wearing of face masks and respirators will instead be recommended – especially if the virus-infected person works with people who have weakened immunities.

Other EU countries are also lifting the requirement to self-isolate. Slovakia, for example, dropped the rule on March 20. 

Intentional dissemination of the virus – that is, knowingly being in public after a positive Covid-19 diagnosis – will also no longer be punishable. In 2021, almost 200 people in Czechia were charged with infecting other members of the public while infected with Covid-19. Purposeful spreading of the virus is punishable by around three years in prison.