his ballot at a polling station during the first day of the Czech
elections on October 20, 2017 in Pruhonice, Central Bohemia.
MICHAL CIZEK / AFP
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis admitted Monday that
his government had made a mistake when it eased restrictions aimed
at containing coronavirus over the summer.
His mea culpa came as governments across Europe struggle with a
second wave of Covid-19 infections following the holiday months in
which the number of cases began rising sharply.
“Even I got carried away by the coming summer and the general
mood. That was a mistake I don’t want to make again,” the
billionaire populist said in a televised speech.
After fending off much of the pandemic earlier in the year with
timely steps including mandatory facemasks outdoors, the government
lifted most measures before the summer holidays.
Commission Ursula von der Leyen (R) leaves a whote rose next to a
cauldron as she attends a state ceremony to honour the 28,400
victims of the coronavirus crisis as well as those public servants
who have been fighting on the front line against the pandemic in
Spain, on July 16, 2020, at the Royal Palace in Madrid. Mariscal /
POOL / AFP
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The Czech Republic registered a record high of 3,130 coronavirus
cases last Thursday, almost matching the total for the whole of
March, although testing capacity was low at the start of the
pandemic.
Interior Minister Jan Hamacek said the country was now ranked
second worst in the EU behind Spain in terms of daily case growth
per 100,000 residents.
“The situation is serious. Experts say that if we exceed 120,000
new infections per month, we’ll start running out of hospital beds.
We’ll do our best to prevent this,” he said.
Health Minister Adam Vojtech — a lawyer known for singing in the
Czech version of the “Idol” series — announced his resignation
earlier Monday.
He was immediately replaced with epidemiologist Roman Prymula,
who has helped coordinate government measures to curb
infections.
AFP
Read more https://swordpress.com.ng/2020/09/22/i-got-carried-away-czech-pm-regrets-lifting-covid-19-measures/