Open-air markets in the Czech Republic can finally open today along with a variety of workshops and car dealerships. The original plan was to make stores of up to 200 sqm (and not located in a shopping center) to wait until April 27 before opening. But the government has decided to let even bigger stores open their doors, as long as they reduce the selling space in the store to just 200 square meters by using physical barriers such as security tape. If the coronavirus remains under control after that, free-standing stores of up to 1,000 sqm would be allowed to open. Shopping malls and restaurants will still have to wait until June 8, according to the government. Retailers are complaining that the timetable is too slow and that no one consulted them while coming up with the plan. They complained that it’s unfair to allow DIY stores to open a month sooner than shopping centers, which have some of the biggest stores in the country.
