The Czech Republic has returned to a state of lockdown after the number of new cases reached 12,000 on Wednesday. The radical step followed just days after the Czech government promised that another lockdown would not be needed. Nevertheless, shops and services have been ordered to close as of Thursday morning at 6:00 a.m., less than a week than all restaurants were ordered to close and all schools with the exception of nursery schools returned to distance learning. Grocery stores and pharmacies will be allowed to remain open, but public offices will be open just two days per week for a maximum of five hours. Justifying the move, the Minister of Health warned that failure to act would have led to the nation’s health services being overwhelmed within the first 10 days of November. Deputy premier Jan Hamacek, who heads the country’s Crisis Committee, tested positive for Covid-19 during the day, most likely following a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture.
