Do you think the government’s measures are sufficient?
The measures are simply the same as those that worked in the spring. The question is whether we could have come with them earlier. However, it turned out that the first measures we came up with did not work, so we deployed the ones that worked in the spring.
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Were there any other measures in the game? There was talk of banning going out at night or allowing people to move only to a distance from their place of residence, as in other states.
It is always possible to come up with an alternative within individual sectors, but this is built as a balanced complex that has proven itself. There were no other alternatives in the debate.
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The government’s action was long, was the decision unanimous?
Was it about schools, what will it look like after the end of the emergency? Or that kindergartens would close as well?
No, everything remains as it is.
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Have you agreed when and under what conditions it will be necessary to tighten?
I believe that this will not be necessary, because there are not many possibilities to harden. The government has already used the heaviest caliber that is. Except for the total shutdown of the economy and the whole country, which they did not allow, except Israel, nowhere. This is the maximum.
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The reason is that even though we have massively increased the capacity of hospitals, we have practically doubled it at the cost of postponing some procedures, so it turned out that the number of infected people is still growing. And if we do nothing, we will run out of capacity around November 8-10, and the hospital will overcrowd.
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The government’s goal is to reduce the reproduction number to 0.8. Will restrictions help?
It’s the only way to prove it. We can’t afford it to keep growing. Then the system would really collapse and there would be Lombardy or New York. The measures are so drastic that they should work.
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At the same time, the Minister of Health said what the criterion for release is. Until the system responds and we get to the 0.8 (the R number shows how many people are infected by one positive person, it now reaches 1.4), so no release can be considered. This goes against the questions of those who recognize the need for action but want to know how long it will last. The coronavirus strategy called for by the opposition is being finalized and will be presented shortly.
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People criticize that many exceptions to hard measures are made.
There are enough exceptions. But they are mostly the tried ones in the spring. At that time, the situation dragged on very sharply and practice then showed that, for example, some services are needed. Someone’s hearing aid broke or the car didn’t drive. I think we clarified the exceptions in the spring, so we have now taken them over.
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Other countries in Europe are also reporting high disease growth. Are you considering restricting trips abroad as in the spring? Travel agencies report thousands of tours sold…
Definitely no one is considering a travel ban. And the situation in the surrounding countries is better than in our country. So now there is no reason to proceed with the introduction of quarantine upon return. If it turns out that the situation in the Czech Republic will improve and some countries will swing worse than us, then it is possible that we would put it on the red list and quarantine would be mandatory after returning from that country.
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Slovakia wants to test people at the border on arrival.
This is related to the availability of antigenic tests. They are not in sufficient numbers yet, but when they are available, we can talk about various projects. For example, about area testing, as Slovaks want, or border testing. Deliveries should arrive in the coming days.
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Isn’t there a risk of large crowds due to shorter office hours in the offices?
If it turns out that a problem arises somewhere, I have noticed so far that it happened at the hallmarking office, so it will be addressed on an ad hoc basis, for example by postponing or extending the validity, as we solved driving licenses (temporary extension). But globally, contacts need to be reduced. People need to be appealed to postpone the journey if they do not need to go to the office.
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Will you be asking for an extension of the state of emergency in the House?
From my point of view, it is almost 100% certainty.
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On Sunday, you were with the police leaders in the operations center during a demonstration in the Old Town Square. Will your positive covid test have any consequences for others who have been there with you?
We all followed hygienic measures, had respirators, disinfection. Due to this, Prague Hygiene did not recommend quarantine to anyone present.
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What is the infection now between police and firefighters? Doesn’t that threaten their work anymore?
Gradually yes. The infection progresses relatively quickly, with around 200 to 250 cases of illness or quarantine per day. The whole integrated system is under a lot of pressure. For fewer firefighters, the problem is more visible. There are stations where there are no longer complete exits, so voluntary units are also used.
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Are there enough protective equipment? Some hospitals report problems with gloves, overshoes.
Gloves are a worldwide problem. As far as I know, there are stocks in the state’s material reserves. Hospitals are to have a supply for two months, otherwise they must buy them. If it turns out that there is a hole in the market, then they can request state material reserves.
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How do you feel after a positive test? Can you manage the Central Crisis Staff?
I feel a slight cold, I don’t have a temperature. So far no complications. I work from home, but one hundred percent. And I just arranged for the crisis staff to meet.
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What did you solve?
It was a common agenda, bed capacity, coordination of assistance from abroad, the impact of current measures. It is our responsibility to ensure the arrival of 28 doctors from the United States, who are due next week.
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We have asked for 60 fans from Italy, which should arrive very quickly. Other technical matters are to come from Germany, Denmark, and Romania has offered assistance. Regarding the restrictions adopted, we agreed that the best solution is to repeat the measures from the spring.
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