End of state of emergency does not mean end of lockdown, says Prague mayor

All lockdown measures will not be lifted along with the end of the state of emergency, Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib told journalists after a meeting between regional governors and the Czech government on Friday.

The Health Ministry will preserve most of the restrictions, Hřib said.

The Prague Crisis Staff has empowered Hřib to declare a "state of danger" in the capital. Each Czech region, as well as Prague, has the ability to declare a state of danger, which would allow for regional measures to be implemented in a fashion similar to the nationwide state of emergency.

It has not yet been decided whether this will happen. Prague will discuss the issue with the Central Bohemia Region.

"It arises from information presented at the afternoon meeting between the Czech Association of Regions and the government that all measures will not be cancelled on Monday, after the state of emergency expires," Hřib said.

"If anything, one can expect the Health Ministry to preserve most of the measures. Coronavirus will really not disappear on the night from Sunday to Monday," the Prague Mayor added.

Only the person of crisis manager will change as of Monday, he stated.

"It has turned out that under the leadership of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and within the current form of the state of emergency, our country has reached the sad, third worst place in the EU," Hřib said.

Some individual measures should be revised as they have proven inefficient, Hřib said. People's trust must be renewed.

"The measures must focus more on personal responsibility. No one must be uselessly harassed. Personally, I believe in the discipline of Praguers who showed in the past that they can be responsible and considerate. I do not doubt they will continue with this," Hřib said.

According to Hřib, Prague City Hall has decided to create a vaccination point with the capacity of up to 1,000 people per day at Prague Congress Centre.