Prognosis
Czechs Shut Down Shops, Warning That Health System May Collapse
- Measures needed to protect health-care system, premier says
- Percentage of positive Covid-19 tests remains ‘extremely high’
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The Czech government imposed a partial economic shutdown to combat Europe’s worst current coronavirus outbreak, warning that if the country can’t stop its spread the hospital system may collapse by early next month.
After registering a new daily record of new cases of Covid-19, Prime Minister Andrej Babis’s government decreed all non-essential shops must shut down starting Thursday. It also banned people from leaving home except for buying essentials and commuting to and from work, as well as meeting more than one non-family member at a time outside.