State of Emergency and Rules of Life in the Czech Republic after 1 March 2021

By NOVINKY

Dear Clients,
Dear Business Friends,

We would like to inform you that the Government of the Czech Republic has declared a new state of emergency for 30 days with effect from 27 February 2021. As part of the state of emergency, the
Government and the Ministry of Health have adopted new crisis and emergency measures, which tighten the rules of movement and performance of activities in our territory. We therefore bring you an overview of the main measures valid from 1 March 2021:

FREE MOVEMENT LIMITED

  • It is forbidden to leave the district of one’s permanent residence or domicile. The Capital City of Prague is considered a district.
  • Movement is also limited within the territory of one’s district, where a maximum of two people can stay in public places during the day, and going out after 21:00 (9 p.m.) is only possible in specific exceptional cases. All persons are strongly advised to stay at the place of their permanent residence or domicile only with members of their own household.
  • Leaving the territory of the Czech Republic is not generally prohibited.
  • It is not possible to visit one’s own recreational facility located outside the district of residence. However, it is possible to move to it in advance and use it as a residence for the entire duration of the crisis measure.
  • There are several exceptions to these prohibitions, such as travel to work or to run business, necessary travel to medical facilities, etc. The grounds for the exception are proven by a certificate (e.g. from the employer) or an affidavit (where, by nature, such certificate does not exist).
  • Employers are ordered to use remote work if, given the nature of the work and operating conditions, their employees can perform it at the place of permanent residence or domicile.

BAN ON RETAIL AND SALE OF SERVICES

  • The ban on the sale of goods and services in establishments as well as the ban on the presence of the public in these establishments continues to apply.
  • Exceptions still apply to specific types of business activities that remain allowed; however, their range is narrower than before.

WEARING PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

  • The obligation to wear a respirator or medical face masks (only one, not two at once) applies to all publicly accessible places in the built-up area of a municipality, in all indoor areas of buildings except one’s residence and accommodation, and also outside the built-up area of the municipality, where the two-metre distance between people is not possible. An exception applies, for example, to children under 2 years and others.
  • The obligation to wear protective equipment now also applies to all workplaces, with one exception, being the performance of activities at one place without the presence of any other person. It is therefore no longer the case that protective equipment is not mandatory in on-site work and observance of the two-meter distance.
  • Only respirators and not medical face masks must be worn by persons in specified areas, such as medical facilities, shops, platforms, public transport means, etc. In these places, an exception applies to children from 2 to 15 years of age, for whom a medical face mask suffices.
  • Children under 2 years of age can also be without protective equipment in these places.
  • All employers are obliged to equip employees with the required respiratory protective equipment in sufficient numbers for each work shift. An exception is only set in the event that the employee does not come into physical contact with other persons during the performance of work, for example, if he works from home.

MEETINGS OF THE BODIES OF LEGAL ENTITIES

  • A general meeting or meeting of another body of a legal entity called to fulfil a statutory obligation, such as the discussion of annual financial statements or the appointment of members of
    elected bodies, may be held in any number of persons.
  • As concerns any purposes other than the fulfilling of statutory obligations, a meeting of the body of a legal entity may be held in a maximum number of 50 persons.
  • If more than 10 people are to be present, it is necessary to respect the following conditions: each person submits to the convener of the meeting or another authorised person a certificate of the
    negative result of the antigen test performed no more than 3 days before the start of the meeting.
  • It is a matter of course to maintain distances and wear respirators or medical face masks.

The above measures are valid (for the time being) until 21 March 2021, with the exception of the rules concerning the wearing of protective equipment, which will apply until further notice.

We will continue to monitor all future meetings of the Government and relevant bodies, and will inform you immediately of any further changes.

Your LTA Team

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