Prague Daily Monitor

With increasing cases and deaths the Czech Republic is yet to confirm its first case. All suspected cases up to Sunday have resulted in negative results, or results are still pending. The country has also managed to evacuate citizens from China to Brussels and other European destinations.

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Prague Daily Monitor

The Czech Republic has not recorded a positive test on any suspected patients to date. There have been several suspected cases, mostly from Chinese tourists in North Moravia, Brno and Prague. Futhermore, even the Czechs that were evacuated from China last week have thus far not been tested positive for the virus. There remain 105 Czech citizens in China whom want to return home. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Tomas Petricek communicated to media that if need be the country will send an airbus to China to pick them up.

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Prague Daily Monitor

The high winds from the "orkan" of the past few days have caused an estimated 50,000 trees to fall in the Šumava National Park. The exact count of the damage to the park is still being calculated by park rangers.

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Prague Daily Monitor

Police from the National Center Against Organized Crime suspect an employee from the General Financial Directorate of agreeing to a ten million crown bribe, five million of which he had personally taken possession of. The spokesperson for the General Financial Directorate Zuzana Masatova said "the employee has been removed from service."

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by Paul Lysek | Prague Daily Monitor/Unicare

With the headlines full of stories written to cause us anxiety about the flu and coronavirus, we asked our partners at Unicare, a Prague premium healthcare company, to help us write up some key important facts about what to look for and how to deal with symptoms.

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Prague Daily Monitor

The first three cases of people testing positive for the coronavirus in the Czech Republic were confirmed on Sunday evening. All of the infected are in residence at the Na Bulovce hospital in Prague, one patient arriving via special ambulance from Masaryk hospital in Ustí nad Labem. One case is a male who was on a conference in Udine. The second case is a female American citizen visiting Prague while on a study abroad program in Milan. Lastly, a male who was in Italy on ski holidays.

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Prague Daily Monitor

Some people are panicking, some people are fighting at the bulk retailers across the pond, some are getting haircuts in China with a meter distance between themselves and the barber. But what is actually going on here?

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Prague Daily Monitor

There is not very much in the news outside of the fear selling virus epidemic, as it is being increasingly referred to. As of Sunday, March 8th there were thirty-two cases confirmed in the country. They are mostly people returning from Italy or close contacts. There does not appear to be any run away escalation of cases as in some other countries. But life as we know it will most likely change for a while. The Czech Republic seems to be the first country to threaten quarantine breakers with a maximum fine of CZK 3,000,000.

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Prague Daily Monitor

The Covid-19 virus brought new measures to the Czech Republic. With cases quickly growing to over 10,000 in Italy, and surrounding countries running over a thousand cases each, the Czech Republic has decided to try and get ahead of the virus and stop its spread. Schools are closed for an unspecified amount of time. All activities which have groups larger than 100 people are cancelled.

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Prague Daily Monitor

Europe and the world are entering a new phase in the fight against the epidemic. Yesterday, the WHO declared the spread of the Covid-19 virus a pandemic. The Czech Republic is closing in on 94 confirmed cases as of Wednesday night. This includes a few cases which are not traced to a patient zero, meaning the patient got the virus from another person who may not yet be known to the health authorities.

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Prague Daily Monitor

In Brno yesterday, a thirty-six year old man tried to enter a local supermarket without proper face protection. The fifty-nine year old security officer on duty was not willing to yield the rule and demanded the man not enter. A scuffle broke out and it ended with the customer being driven off in an ambulance.

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Prague Daily Monitor

The government has already passed several measures which are designed to assist and help people cope with the situation surrounding the current lock-down, school and business closures and other related problems. The government has agreed to compensate employees of closed businesses, which include restaurants, bars, stores and other deemed non-essential operations. The government will compensate 80% of wages for the employees who are affected.

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Cathay Pacific is looking at “structural change” as it investigates how to downscale its business in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Post has learned.Hong Kong’s flag carrier is mulling scenarios that could reduce staff headcount, routes served and planes flown, as well as the possible consolidation of its airline brands, in drastic steps that would mirror those taken by rivals in recent weeks.“We are currently working with colleagues from across the airline to model varying degrees…

Hong Kong doctors have performed Asia’s first heart transplant using a new technology invented in the United States that keeps the organ warm, beating and supplied with blood during the transfer, in a medical breakthrough that will enable more life-saving operations across borders.Dr Timmy Au Wing-kuk – chief of Queen Mary Hospital’s cardiothoracic surgery department, which carried out the medical procedure – hailed the Organ Care System as a success story that could not only allow up to five…

Alarmed by the amount of rubbish they were generating by just drinking coffee and eating cup noodles, two former garments entrepreneurs decided it was time to find an eco-friendly alternative to all the plastic packaging that ends up in landfills globally.George Chen Dah-ren and Vivian Chang first approached material scientists in Hong Kong and mainland China, and were in 2013 pointed in the direction of Alexander Bismarck, then a Materials Science professor at Imperial College London. The…

The production of reusable masks for all Hongkongers was not for profit, a government official said as she revealed the manufacturer’s identity and defended the lack of a public tender for the project worth hundreds of millions of dollars.Annie Choi Suk-han, permanent secretary of the Innovation and Technology Bureau, said most of the masks were being made by Crystal International Group at a facility in Vietnam.The rest were assembled, disinfected and packed using three local facilities offered…

Hong Kong recorded four new coronavirus infections on Thursday, all involving returnees from Pakistan the previous night, as the city prepared to bring back more residents stranded in South Asia.The diagnoses ended a two-day streak without any new cases, and takes the city’s total number of confirmed infections to 1,044.Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable diseases branch of the Centre for Health Protection (CHP), said the patients in question, aged between 11 and 47, all returned to…

Bars will reopen across Hong Kong on Friday after a month-long coronavirus shutdown, as Lan Kwai Fong venues prepare to slash prices and the nightlife hub’s founder predicts takings as low as half normal levels.More than 100 frontline workers have been tested for the virus as part of the Central party zone’s relaunch, which comes as the government eases social-distancing restrictions in response to the improving Covid-19 situation in the city.Pubs and bars will only be allowed to operate half…

The eyes are an important route for the coronavirus into the human body, according to University of Hong Kong research which found the strain was up to 100 times more infectious than severe acute respiratory syndrome and bird flu in two facial orifices tested by the public health experts.Laboratory tests revealed the “virus level” of SARS-Cov-2 – the strain of coronavirus that causes the Covid-19 disease – was far greater than for Sars in the upper respiratory airways and conjunctiva, the cells…

Exam authorities will carry out citywide research to develop an alternative student grading system in the event university entrance tests are cancelled because of future pandemics, Hong Kong’s education minister told the Post on Thursday.In an exclusive interview, Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung also said his bureau would review with schools how to better prepare for class suspensions, including teacher training and resources for non-traditional instruction methods.Hong Kong…

The commitment of students in bringing people together will be the focus of the 39th annual Student of the Year Awards organised by the South China Morning Post.With the theme “Leading for a better society”, two new awards this year include a special prize for the most nurturing environment, which will go to a school and its students, and another for mentorship.A total of 11 awards in nine categories, including science, maths, languages, sports, and visual and performing arts, will be presented…

Hong Kong started returning to normal on Friday as the city eased the social-distancing rules brought in to help combat the spread of Covid-19.For the first time in more than a month, residents were able to go to gyms, beauty parlours, bars, cinemas, and other public venues which the government previously forced to close.With local transmission of the virus levelling off over the past two weeks, officials have allowed a partial reopening of eight types of business, but with conditions attached…

Bars and other entertainment venues were finally allowed to reopen their doors on Friday after more than a month of coronavirus measures, but Hong Kong’s famed nightlife scene was far from buzzing as people remained wary over the potential risk of infection.But along with the caution there was a sense of optimism from customers and business operators alike.A day after the city detected four imported cases in Hong Kong residents returning from Pakistan, the number of new infections dropped to…

Hong Kong’s police chief has reacted with fury over the “dishonour brought to the force” by the arrest of 18 officers for various offences over the past three weeks, including nine detained on Friday in connection with actions against street sleepers.Commissioner of Police Chris Tang Ping-keung said the behaviour of the officers concerned had brought disgrace to the force and dealt a severe blow to its credibility and nullified efforts achieved over the years.“As commissioner, I am not just…

The High Court has thrown out a Hong Kong resident’s challenge to his quarantine status, dismissing his application for a writ of habeas corpus over his mandatory isolation at a government-run facility.Accountant Syed Agha Raza Shah, who tested negative for Covid-19 upon his return, was sent to the Chun Yeung Estate in Fo Tan for a 14-day stay after returning from Pakistan via Qatar with about 200 other Hong Kong residents on April 29.On Thursday, he applied for a writ of habeas corpus…

Ocean Park could run out of cash by September, its CEO warned on Friday as he estimated the Hong Kong attraction had missed out on nearly 1 million visitors over three months of its coronavirus shutdown.With the health crisis intensifying the resort’s financial woes, Matthias Li Sing-chung said no decision had been made on when the park would emerge from the shutdown imposed on January 26, but said it could return within two weeks once conditions were deemed suitable, even if some social…

Police dispersed lunchtime protesters with pepper spray in an upscale Hong Kong shopping centre just 12 hours after the government relaxed some coronavirus social-distancing measures and allowed people to gather in groups of eight on Friday.Shortly after dozens of anti-government demonstrators began yelling slogans and belting out their anthem, officers entered the IFC Mall in Central to cordon off their protest site, forcing the Apple store to lower its shutters.Later, police used pepper spray…

A Hong Kong police officer arrested in connection with the seizure of 25kg of drugs worth HK$12 million is believed to have orchestrated its theft from the scene of a bust he was personally in charge of last week, according to police sources.If true, it would mean the announced record seizure of 296kg of Ice, a form of methamphetamine, actually involved 321kg.Sources said the station sergeant, who was arrested along with a constable in connection with the missing drugs, was in charge of the…

A senior civil servant overseeing the distribution of reusable masks to all Hongkongers has promised to put the production of their replacement filters out to tender after admitting to shortcomings in the transparency of the original contract awarded by the government.Annie Choi Suk-han, permanent secretary of the Innovation and Technology Bureau, on Friday rejected suggestions the government had intentionally hidden the identity of the manufacturer chosen for the HK$320 million (US$41 million)…

A combination of three drugs suppressed the coronavirus within seven days when used on patients in Hong Kong, nearly twice as fast as a single medicine did, in a result seen as a leading hope in the fight against the pandemic, a study has found.The findings of the research, led by University of Hong Kong academics and published in The Lancet on Saturday, could signal progress in the search for a standard form of therapy for Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes the Covid-19 disease.It discovered…

After almost three months of hectic preparation, Denis Huen Yin-fan’s Hong Kong factory started delivering masks to customers last week to help protect them against the Covid-19 pandemic.Just as the supplies began reaching his clients, the Hong Kong government announced it will be distributing reusable and disposable masks to all households, free of charge, within weeks.Every household will receive reusable masks that can be washed up to 60 times, as well as a pack of 10 disposable masks.1.5…

It is about 7pm when Muslim community leader Raheel Ahmed, 57, gathers with his wife, two sons and daughter for a home-made meal of dates, rice and spicy curried chicken, salad, fresh fruit and juice.For this Hong Kong family of Pakistani origin, it is their first meal after fasting for more than 12 hours, as this is the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.The world’s 1.8 billion Muslims mark the month by abstaining from food or drink from sunrise to sunset, and gathering as a community in mosques to…

Hong Kong recorded zero new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, as a government adviser suggested that border control measures between the city and Macau could be the first to be lifted.It was also the 20th day in a row without any local infections, although a handful of imported cases over the past week had taken Hong Kong’s tally to 1,044 with four related deaths.Health experts earlier raised the prospect of Hong Kong being declared free of local transmission if there were no such cases after 28 days…