Czech morning news in brief: top stories for March 5, 2021

A massive cyberattack targeting the public administration IT system occurred on Thursday, but Prague City Hall's data was not affected, Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib tweeted today. The Labour and Social Affairs Ministry office was also among the targets minister Jana Malacova told the Seznam Zpravy server. The Czech Cyber and Information Security Agency (NUKIB) has not commented on the incident yet. "A massive cyberattack on IT systems of public administration. The servers of the City Hall have survived. Unavailability time followed to install an immediate security patch on the email system," Hrib wrote. On Wednesday, the NUKIB issued a warning against a series of serious vulnerabilities on the Microsoft Exchange Server, adding that they have been actively misused, according to information provided by Microsoft.

Nine out of ten Czechs say they strictly observe the current anti-epidemic rules, while 8 percent of citizens do not stick to them, a survey conducted by the Median polling agency for public Czech Radio shows. The public considers wearing respirators and face masks as the most efficient measure. In comparison, the closure of shops and restricted movement between districts are deemed the least efficient measures. The measures are respected mostly by the elderly, as three-quarters of people in this group said they were definitely observing them. On the other side of the spectrum, one-third of the youngest age group said they obeyed the anti-epidemic rules. The size of the region and residential district do not play a major role in whether or not a person follows the rules.

Tatra Around the World 2 expedition launches second leg in Africa

The Tatra Around the World 2 Czech expedition launched its second leg on Wednesday when it left Djibouti, the capital of the Republic of Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, heading for Ethiopia, a journey which was broadcast live on social media. The crew comprises 11 people, including traveler Stanislav Synek, 83, who took part in the first Tatra Around the World at the end of the 1980s. Back then the expedition used a modified Tatra T 815 GTC, while its successor has a special version of Tatra T 815 4x4. The team plans to cross 11 countries during the second leg. After Djibouti and Ethiopia, they plan to visit Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, from where the Tatra should sail to South America. The expedition has chosen Africa for this year since milder COVID-19 restrictions apply here than in Asia. 

Theater artists, experts plead for reopening of culture

The state should start planning the gradual reopening of cultural facilities with respect to general restrictions amid the COVID epidemic, representatives of Czech theater groups and associations demanded in a press release sent to media by the Prague-seated International Theatre Institute (ITI). Unlike industry, culture, education, and services have faced long-lasting restrictions, which the ITI argues has had a devastating impact on Czech society. "This is no longer possible without the same restrictions applying to other branches," ITI wrote, appealing for the safe return of culture to public life and adding that It is necessary to think about the quality of life and set equal conditions for all sectors.

NASA publishes second snap from Opava University this year

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has published a second photo by Opava University's Institute of Physics, this time a photo (Mars in Taurus) taken in the Czech Republic during the coronavirus lockdown. The photo, captured at the Sec water reservoir in east Bohemia, shows the night sky in the Taurus and Perseus constellations dominated by Mars and complemented by the Pleiades and Hyades clusters, the California Nebula, and interstellar clouds. On Thursday, March 4, 2021, 26 minutes after midnight, Mars stood closer to the Pleiades than it has in the past 17 years.

Online supermarkets in the Czech Republic have seen a considerable increase in sales due to the restrictions on movement that began from Monday. Many sellers are introducing measures such as one purchase per customer per day or an increase in the minimum purchase price, representatives of online supermarkets told CTK. Košík.cz registered an increased number of orders and has increased the minimum price of the order from CZK 500 to 800. Rohlik.cz registered increased interest in all cities where it operates, but especially in Prague, and has implemented a temporary measure of limiting one purchase per customer per day and canceling additional orders. Tesco has seen increased interest as well and has reacted by expanding its offer of non-food items.