A decision on whether the Czech Republic will its emergency pandemic risk from Level 4 to Level 5 is due today. While Level 5 looks likely, the government could decide to delay its implementation from Dec. 25 as originally threatened to Dec. 27, in order to allow Czechs to visit each other over the holiday. It argues that having implemented free antigen testing to all Czechs last week, those who now know they can’t spread the virus should be allowed to visit relatives. But the Level 5 restrictions would be terrible news for shop owners who were counting on the post-Christmas sales to get rid of unsold inventory and make room for new goods. “Post-Christmas sales are one of the key sale events of the year,” said electronics retailer Datart Eva Kocicova. She told Lidovky.cz that her company would have to rely on its online shop if stores are forced to close. Hudy sport’s manager Jan Fousek told the same server that it was fortunate that stores had managed to open at least for most of December. “The pre-Christmas period is the most important for us and luckily, we were able to be fully operational. Post-Christmas sales are also important, lots of people naturally wait for them…But we have a well-organized e-shop and thanks to pick-up points and online sales we’ll be able to survive this period.”
