The Czech government hasn’t declared a hard lockdown, yet, but it’s clear that stricter restrictions are on the way. Speaking after an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday night, the Ministry of Industry said it wasn’t possible to force all manufacturers to shut down. This hasn’t stopped some economists from warning that the final price for avoiding a hard lockdown could prove higher than by letting key industries continue to work. However, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš doesn’t appear to have enough control of his fragile coalition to carry it out. “It’s not on the table,” said Minister of Industry Karel Havliček. The problem now for domestic manufacturers and suppliers is that unlike in spring, when all manufacturers across the continent were forced to shut down, the Czech Republic’s handling of the pandemic is about the worst in Europe. Hospodářské noviny quotes the manager of the automobile cable supplier KES Pavel Jemala as saying “If suppliers couldn’t work, it could endanger the production of new cars and there’s a risk that domestic companies would lose orders from abroad.”
The government has pledged to pay for companies to carry out antigen tests of their workforce beginning March 1. The decision to allow companies to carry out such tests comes just 50 weeks after the pandemic forced the first lockdown. As of Thursday morning, it was unclear what the new restrictions would be, but they could include limiting banning people from crossing regional borders. The government has filed requests with EU member states to “lend” it over 100,000 vaccinations.
