Expats feel safe in the Czech Republic, and are looking forward to returning to pubs

Prague, March 26 (CTK) – Foreigners living in the Czech Republic feel as safe as possible during the current pandemic thanks to the government measures to curb the coronavirus virus spread, and they are getting information mainly on social media, three of them said in a CTK interview this week.

They miss their families abroad a lot as they will probably not see them for several months at least.

On the other hand, they admit they are looking forward to going to a pub when the crisis is over.

None of the three is following the Czech authorities’ official websites providing information in English.

One can get access to news faster elsewhere, said analyst Lewis, who comes from Northern England. Social media is always faster, there is no point in waiting for an official translation into English, he added.

He and his friends are also gathering information about the introduced measures from the few Czech news web sites providing service in English.

French woman Johanne said the French Embassy in Prague was sending her the latest information on the new measures via e-mail and the mission also shared news on social media.

The new coronavirus was first detected in China at the end of last year from where the infection gradually spread all over the world. It broke out in full swing in Europe in March.

The coronavirus infection appeared in the Czech Republic on March 1 when the first three cases of COVID-19 were confirmed. A state of emergency was declared over it, seriously curtailing movement of people.

Britain took similar restrictive measures on Monday only, while the infection appeared there in January. There are more than 8,200 confirmed coronavirus cases in Britain now.

It became apparent in Italy and China how fast this virus would spread, said Liam, a 29-year-old manager from Blackpool, Britain, who has been living in Czechia for two and a half years.

Britain should have adopted anti-coronavirus measures much earlier, Liam said. He praised the Czech Republic for restricting free movement of people so soon.

The coronavirus situation in France is critical with more than 25,000 infected on Wednesday.

Johanne said her grandmother was living in Orleans and that she would not mind even walking to her if she were sure she would not pose a health risk to her. Johanne’s family lives not only in France, but also in Spain, Switzerland and Vietnam.

All the three foreigners agree that the worst consequence of the pandemic for them is that they cannot see their families and friends.

Both Johanne and Liam planned to visit their families in March and April, but have had to cancel the trips over the pandemic that closed the borders.

Along with meeting their families again, they are also looking forward to small pleasures, such as going to pubs.

Asked what she would do as the very first thing after the nationwide quarantine was lifted in Czechia, Johanne said they would go to a restaurant and spend the whole night eating and drinking. Liam shares this view. “Pub” was his answer to the same question.

This morning, the Czech Republic recorded 1,775 confirmed coronavirus cases, while 26,700 people have been tested so far. Ten patients have recovered, six died.