Lockdown relaxation should be responsible, says Czech President

Lany, Central Bohemia, Nov 28 (CTK) - Czech President Miloš Zeman believes that the government steps for the relaxation of anti-COVID-19 measures should be predictable and responsible, Health Minister Jan Blatný (for ANO) and his predecessor Roman Prymula told journalists after their meeting with Zeman on Saturday.

The government is expected to make a decision regarding the relaxation of lockdown measures on Sunday.

The discussion with Zeman regarding the current coronavirus epidemic was fruitful, Blatný said.

The participants agreed that there is a need to proceed in a systematic way, and that the relaxation of the government measures is only possible if it is safe.

"Zeman is of the view that there is a need of proceeding responsibly. We did not discuss the appeal of taking any step by a certain deadline," Blatný said.

Prymula said they agreed that the relaxation should be predictable and based on data concerning the development of the epidemic.

Blatný repeated that on Sunday the government would decide on easing the lockdown on the basis of data available in the morning.

At present, the country's score on the PES epidemic scale has been on the third level for six days in a row, while current the lockdown measures reflect the fourth level.

According to the PES system, a loosening of measures is only possible when the score is at a lower level after a full seven days, which it should be on Sunday. However, this does not guarantee the lockdown will be eased.