The government is planning to extend the state of emergency again – this time until the 11th January, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has announced. Yet, the opposition stands against the proposal.
The news come following a considerable but not complete improvement of the epidemiological situation in Czechia.
“The data for Tuesday did not inspire me at all. The numbers are still high. The only solution is the vaccine. Therefore, we will ask for an extension of the state of emergency for another thirty days,” he said according to Vinegret.cz.
The Czech Republic has already committed to buying five million doses of the vaccine from different manufacturers. It has also started preparing a plan for those who will be vaccinated in January.
The state of emergency was extended till the 12th December. It remains a prerequisite for the functioning of the PES system, which regulates the measures according with the epidemiological situation in the Czech Republic.
On Thursday, the country will move to the third level of PES, which will mean lifting the curfew and opening all shops, restaurants and other services. Babiš commented: “There is an awful lot of disintegration. If people could wait a while, it would have been nice. I am slightly nervous about this development.”
The government will present the proposal to the Chamber of Deputies but most of the oppositional leaders stood against the extension. Some suggested that the government can introduce alternative measures, others – that the government failed to produce a post-extension plan.
“Measures to protect vulnerable groups of the population can be addressed by an amendment to the law on the protection of public health even without declaring a general emergency,” said the chairman of the SPD movement, Tomio Okamura according to iDnes.cz.
