Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová to visit Prague next week

Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová will meet her Czech counterpart Miloš Zeman in Prague on Tuesday, according to her website. Zeman's spokesperson has confirmed the information; Čaputová will visit the Czech President at Prague's Central Military Hospital.

Zeman has been hospitalized since October 10. On Monday, doctors plan to transfer him from the rehabilitation ward to a standard bed, which will allow for a limited number of visitors to meet the president.

"A meeting of the president with the president of Slovakia, Zuzana Čaputová, is scheduled for Tuesday," Zeman's spokesman Jiří Ovčáček told CTK.

Once at the standard hospital ward as of Monday, Zeman also plans to meet with outgoing PM Andrej Babiš and Civic Democrat leader Petr Fiala, who he entrusted with forming a new cabinet earlier this week.

Čaputová will visit the Czech Republic at the invitation of Senate chairman Miloš Vystrčil on the eve of the November 17 national holiday, which marks the anniversary of the anti-communist Velvet Revolution in 1989, as well as the Nazi suppression of Czech universities in 1939.

The Slovak president will be presented with a silver commemorative medal from the Czech Senate, and will lay flowers at the Velvet Revolution memorial on Národní street in Prague.

"In recent days, [Čaputová] showed interest in Miloš Zeman's health condition. In October, she sent a personal letter to him, wishing him health, vigor and a quick recovery, and expressing hope that they will be able to meet soon," the Slovak Presidential Office wrote in a press release.

In addition to Zeman's health condition, his opportunity to receive visitors has also been disrupted by the rising coronavirus epidemic, due to which the Central Military Hospital banned visits to selected wards last week.

Zeman, 77, has been treated for complications resulting from a chronic disease. Last Thursday, doctors transferred him from the intensive care unit to a rehabilitation ward; visits to both wards are currently prohibited by the hospital.

After being transferred to a standard room on Monday, Zeman will be able to receive a limited number of visitors. Apart from Babiš and Fiala, he also plans to speak with candidates for positions in the new Czech cabinet.