Following the request of the government, the Chamber of Deputies agreed to extend the current state of emergency until the 12th December. The original proposal of the government was to extend it for 30 days, until 20th December.
The state of emergency applies in the Czech Republic due to the COVID-19 outbreak since the 5th October and was due to end on Friday. The Chamber of Deputies first agreed to extend it till the 20th November and now again – till December 12th.
54 out of 103 members of the Chamber of Deputies voted in favour of the extension, which was enough to approve the proposal. KDU-ČSL and TOP 09 argued for the extension till December 4th, ODS – November 27th, and the Pirate Party – November 24th. Many members expressed their dissatisfaction with the illogical course of the government’s actions, including the shutdown of barber shops and a ban on Sunday shopping.
On Thursday, the Chamber of Deputies also set a few additional rules for the government. They ordered against the discrimination of the Czech traders in favour of large multinational chains. All such discrimination should end by the 23rd November. As for the retail stores, the government should ensure to set up a proper hygienic operation and measures, which would prevent people from crowding inside.
The Chamber also made several notes regarding the new PES system: as such, they ordered to clearly define the level “0” where PES is not required at all and to revoke the state of emergency under the level “1”.
