Marks & Spencer to temporarily close Prague stores later this week over COVID measures

The British retail store Marks and Spencer says it will be closing a number of their Prague stores until restrictions are lifted on the purchasing of non-essential items.

Known to many as M&S, the stores sell clothing and household goods as well as food and drink items, but they have made the decision to close these Prague shops until the COVID measures are reduced.

Stores closing include: Westfield Chodov, Prague 4 OC DBK, Prague 4 OC Nový Smíchov, Prague 5 NC Fénix, Prague 9 Václavské náměstí No. 36 and the store in Prague 1.

A statement posted to their Instagram story said:

Under current COVID restrictions in the Czech Republic, clothing and non-essential goods cannot be purchased in shops, but the food and drink section of stores remain open until Jan. 15.

According to Seznam Zprávy, the management of the Czech branch of Marks & Spencer is waiting for the development of the epidemic situation in the country.

Marks and Spencer is a British retail store but has a number of stores in the Czech Republic including next to Wenceslas Square, as well as in shopping centers such as Palladium and Westfield. There are some stores outside of Prague, with 18 across the country in total.

An extension of the state of emergency will be discussed when the lower house of the Czech Parliament returns on Jan. 19. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has already said the government would ask the MPs to extend the state of emergency by another 30 days.

Earlier this week a photo circulating on social media showed one of the Marks and Spencer stores in Prague with a number of closed fridges.

A statement from the store said Brexit changes were having an impact on the delivery of some supplies.

Expats.cz has reached out to Marks and Spencer for comment on the decision to temporarily close stores.