Dear clients,

we bring you information on new measures of the Ministry of Health effective from September 18, 2020 on:

• wearing respiratory protective equipment (full text here);

• restrictions of establishments and operations (full text here);

• bans and restrictions of mass events (full text here);

and provide you with an updated list of countries with low risk of infection, available here.

Wearing respiratory protective equipment

• We have already informed you about the general obligation to wear face masks here – however, an exception is newly provided for wearing respiratory protective equipment for customers of catering facilities at the time of consumption of food and meals, including beverages, provided that the customer is sitting at a table.

Restrictions on establishments and operations

• Activities in all establishments are subject to the following rules:

- according to the information materials, customers are encouraged to keep a distance of 2 meters and to pay by card;

- disinfectants must be placed near frequently touched objects (handles, railings, shopping trolleys) so that they are available for employees and customers;

- customers must be informed about the above rules (observance of distances and disinfectants).

• In retail outlets with self-service sales, it is obligatory to provide customers with disposable gloves or other similar hand protection free of charge.

• Operators of catering services must comply with the following rules:

- operator is not allowed to have more customers in the interior of his establishment than the number of seats for customers in the establishment (the operator is obliged to record in writing the total current number of seating seats for customers);

- chairs and tables must be disinfected before having new group of customers;

- in the case of sales through a vending window, the disinfection of the vending window must be performed at least every 2 hours;

- if any employee of the establishment has a body temperature of 37 °C and higher or other symptoms of COVID-19, he/she must not be allowed to access the establishment;

- the operator must guide his/her customers to comply with all the measures.

• For obligations relating to sales of unpacked bakery; activities in farmers’ markets, marketplaces; operations of libraries; sales of clothing and footwear; barber and hairdressing activities; manicure, pedicure, massage, beauty services and podology establishments; operations of theaters, cinemas, concert halls, circuses; operation of accommodation facilities; operations of shopping centers with an area larger than 5,000 m2; operations of facilities for indoor sports; operations of activities in which the integrity of skin is violated; sauna operations - we refer to the full text of the Extraordinary Measure, available here.

Bans and restrictions of mass events

• Mass events (public / private) involving more than 1,000 people are prohibited and restricted for events taking place mainly outdoors; events taking place mainly indoors are limited to maximum of 500 persons.

• For a list of exceptions and indicative list of mass events, we refer to the full text of the Extraordinary Measure available here.

NEW LIST OF COUNTRIES

We would also like to point out that with effect from 14 September 2020 (00:00), a new list of countries with low risk of infection has been issued.

• France and Croatia are now countries with an asterisk (*) – employers and end-users of workers are obliged to prevent entrance of nationals of France or Croatia to their establishment or workplace after returning from non-listed countries (or with an asterisk, if the person does not simultaneously submit a negative test (RT-PCR);

• Romania has been newly added to the list and is marked with an asterisk (*) - employers and end-users of workers are obliged to prevent entrance of Romania nationals to their establishment or workplace after returning from non-listed countries (or with an asterisk), if the person does not simultaneously submit a negative test (RT-PCR);

• Canary Islands have been removed from the list – thus when returning from the Canary Islands, anyone, regardless of their nationality, must submit a negative test or undergo a quarantine.

On 16 September 2020, the government discussed a bill concerning the so-called kurzarbait, which seeks to implement fundamental changes in contributions for partial (non) employment. However, the proposal has to be approved by the Parliament of the Czech Republic, where it may undergo significant changes. Thus we will bring you more detailed information as soon as the final form of the bill is known.

Should you have any queries about the above-mentioned information, we are, of course, available for you.