Czech news in brief for November 21: Friday's top morning headlines

Poland’s news agency PAP apologized for incorrectly reporting that the Foreign Ministry was advising citizens to avoid travel to Czechia due to hepatitis A. The ministry’s website only carried a notice from the Polish Embassy in Prague highlighting rising cases, mainly in Prague, Central Bohemia and Moravia-Silesia. Czech health officials acknowledge the surge but say there is no cause for public alarm or travel restrictions, noting vaccination remains key.

Poland’s Foreign Ministry has urged citizens to avoid travel to Czechia due to a spike in hepatitis A cases. Czech authorities have recorded at least 2,597 infections and 29 deaths this year: four times last year’s total, Polish media reported. The ministry advised strict hygiene, avoiding street food, and drinking only bottled water. Experts say Prague is heavily affected, with infections no longer confined to traditional risk groups.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský condemned the attack on Polish Ambassador Krzysztof Krajewski in St. Petersburg and a recent sabotage attempt on a Polish railway supplying Ukraine. Lipavský discussed the incidents with Polish counterpart Radek Sikorski at an EU meeting in Brussels. He said no similar threats currently target Czech diplomats, though the Czech embassy in Moscow was vandalized in September, prompting a formal protest.

The organization Autism-Europe has filed a complaint accusing Czechia of violating disability rights by failing to provide sufficient community-based services, the Ombudsman’s Office said. Deputy Ombudsman Vít Alexander Schorm called the criticism justified, noting slow progress in shifting from institutional to community care. The group argues that funding still favors large facilities and that families caring for disabled individuals face exhaustion, financial strain and social isolation.

Veterinarians have confirmed H5N1 bird flu at a pheasant farm near Protivín, where about 10,000 pheasants will be culled, officials said. Sixty birds died showing neurological symptoms. Authorities established 3-km protection and 10-km surveillance zones restricting poultry movement and banning bird events. It is the region’s fourth outbreak in a week; earlier cases at Blatenská ryba led to the destruction of 13,000 ducks.

ANO leader Andrej Babiš, tasked with forming a government by President Petr Pavel, says he will submit proposed ministers by Nov. 28. Speaking in Frýdek-Místek, Babiš refused to discuss how he plans to resolve his Agrofert conflict-of-interest issue, saying he would announce it only once finalized. He defended the conglomerate’s record, noting Agrofert has paid “tens of billions” in taxes and contributions in the EU.