Wearing face masks in Prague: What are the rules now?

From midnight on Saturday, Czech residents across the country will be required to wear masks at indoor events with more than 100 people, Vojtěch said at Thursday’s press conference. Since then some clarifications have been made and restrictions added. Here is the latest on when and where to put on a mask in Prague:

From Monday masks must be worn in non-residential medical facilities, such as pharmacies and doctor’s waiting rooms.

Also from Monday, throughout the country inside events for more than 500 people are prohibited. This restriction is mainly aimed at sports and cultural events, such as concerts or dance parties. But also applies to weddings and funerals.

The Health Minister added that the measures apply only to organized events. If more than 100 people gather in a bar “unorganized”, they do not need masks (“If it is the case that people go to the bar, where they sit and drink, then it is not a mass event,” said Vojtech).

Vojtěch told reporters that it doesn’t matter if more than a hundred different people gather in a restaurant for lunch. However, if there is a wedding with more than a hundred guests in the same restaurant, a mask must be worn by guests.

Prague does not want to introduce mandatory wearing of masks in bars. “We did not think about it, there is no reason for it yet,” said the director of Prague hygiene station Zdeňka Jágrová. According to Jágrová, the case in the Prague club, where several dozen people became infected, is unique and an interplay of coincidences contributed to its spread.

The obligation to wear masks does not as of yet apply to public transport (with the exception of the Prague metro) or supermarkets.

However, it is expected that Prague will make masks mandatory throughout all of its public transport, not only in the metro, said Zdeňka Jágrová, the director of Prague hygiene station. “We anticipate that as soon as conditions allow, we will return to the obligation to wear veils in public transport,” said Jágrová.