Spread of COVID-19 on the decline in Prague as more people stay home, work from home

Prague residents have increasingly stayed home and switched to home office, leading to a gradual decline in the number of new coronavirus cases in the capital city, according to a report.

At the start of the pandemic, many people - including Prime Minister Andrej Babiš - often criticized Prague residents for their irresponsible behavior that lead to the spread of coronavirus.

But those rumors are now a thing of the past. Marián Hajdúch, the head of the Ministry of Health's laboratory group, shared a recent Google Mobility Report that showed a large decline in mobility across the country - especially in Prague. More Prague residents are staying home on a regular basis, especially when compared to the rest of the Czech Republic, the report showed.

"Prague has the lowest daily prevalence of only 32/100 thousand resident. For the first time, the big effect of closed stores on Sunday can be seen," the scientist commented.

Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib said that more than half of all Prague residents have switched to home office since the start of the second wave in October, according to a recently conducted study.

"It's a good number, but we could go even further. I therefore urge employers to ensure the transition of their employees to a home office, if possible," Hřib tweeted.

The restrictions have had a big impact on the movement of Czech residents across the country, especially in Prague. According to the Google Mobility Report, mobility has decreased in nearly every location except grocery stores. Across the nation, residents continue to go grocery shopping more frequently than other activities.

In Prague, though, there has been a large drop in visits to restaurants and shopping centers: nearly 61 percent. The amount of people using public transit in Prague has also dropped by 49 percent.

In October, restrictions went into place restricting free movement. In addition, officials established a curfew, ordered all workers to switch to home office, if possible, and closed all shops but a handful of essential shops on Sundays.