Czech lockdown measures will be slightly relaxed from Monday

Prague, Nov 20 (CTK) - Some of the Czech Republic's lockdown measures will be relaxed from Monday, November 23, Health Minister Jan Blatný (for ANO) told journalists at a press conference on Friday.

The move comes following a proposal from the Czech government that stipulates the Czech Republic will move from the fifth and strictest level of the PES epidemic system to the fourth. The fourth level allows for milder measures than the fifth.

Attendance at elementary schools, hands-on instruction at secondary schools, and group teaching with less than 20 participants at higher education schools will be allowed from Monday, though students will return to schools in multiple stages.

Gathering of up to six persons will be allowed in public spaces, and the night curfew will be valid from 11:00 p.m. instead of the current 9:00 p.m.

Parents with children will be able to go into supermarkets using strollers as opposed to shopping carts, which have been mandatory since Wednesday.

Also as of Monday, books may be borrowed from libraries via take-away windows.

Church services may be attended by up to 20 people.

From Monday, the same rules will apply to farmers markets as those for normal shops. This means 15 square meters per person, Blatný affirmed.

Shops may be open until 11:00 p.m., when the new night curfew will take effect, instead of the current 9:00 p.m., Blatný said.

A ban on Sunday sales will remain in effect.

Also as of Monday, final tests at driving schools may take place.

The PES system assesses the coronavirus epidemic development on the basis of multiple criteria: the number of the infected people per 100,000 inhabitants overall and among the senior population; the percentage of positive cases among those tested; and the reproduction number, the average number of people infected by one positively tested person.

Each criterion has a value and added up their total constitutes a risk score assigned to the Czech Republic. That score falls under one of five levels, each of which contain their own corresponding anti-coronavirus measures.

The strictest level starts at 75 points, and the Czech Republic fell under this threshold last Wednesday. As of Friday, the score was 62.

If the situation continues to improve over the next seven days, the Health Ministry may propose further easing the restrictions at the end of next week.