The Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic on Wednesday overturned the order of the Ministry of Health, which only allowed entry into restaurants and hotels to people who were fully vaccinated or had recovered. However, the verdict will only become final in a week, so that the government has time to react accordingly.
Wrong decision-making process and no more state of emergency
The court justified its decision by saying that the Ministry of Health could not decide on these restrictions on the basis of the current pandemic law. This would only be conceivable on the basis of another law, the law on the protection of public health, and only against those people who are suspected of being infected, not automatically against everyone. In addition, this restriction could only apply during a state of emergency, although there has been no state of emergency in the Czech Republic for several weeks.
Less hospital burden
The decision of the administrative court comes at a time when the number of new infections in the Czech Republic is breaking new records. The neighboring country with 10.7 million inhabitants reported almost 67,000 new corona cases for yesterday, Tuesday. However, the burden on hospitals is significantly lower than in previous waves of infection. That is why Petr Fiala’s government is gradually preparing to ease restrictions.
As Minister of Health Vlastimil Valek announced on Wednesday, the mandatory comprehensive tests in schools and companies should be ended from February 18th. Valek also assumes that most restrictions will be lifted in March.
Source: Nachrichten
