On Saturday 25 December 2021 at 11:59 p.m., state of emergency in the Czech Republic declared by the government has expired.
From 27 December 2021, new entry requirements to the Czech Republic are applied. All persons who have been in countries with low, medium, high and very high risk of infection for more than 12 hours in the last 14 days must complete an entry form and undergo a PCR test. On arrival between the 5th and 7th day of entry, if the person is still in the Czech Republic, the PCR test must be repeated. They are obliged to wear a respirator at all times until a negative test result from second test. Persons with a national certificate of vaccination or certificate of experienced disease need only fill in an arrival form and have a PCR test at the time of arrival. Persons with a National Certificate of Completed Vaccination or booster vaccination will only need a completed arrival form.
With the crisis measure of November 25, 2021, the government tightened measures in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Currently (from 3 January 2022) the following special measures apply:
- restrictions on social, cultural and sporting events;
- restrictions on visits to health and social care facilities;
- restrictions on the retail sale of goods and services and the provision of services;
From 01.11.2021, the Ministry of Health ordered the obligation to wear a respirator:
- in all interiors of buildings;
- public transport;
- at all social, cultural, sporting and educational events.
The Pandemic Act
On 26 February 2021, the President of the Republic signed the so-called pandemic law, i.e. the law on emergency measures during an epidemic.
The law unifies the existing legislation for both ordering measures and compensation. The law entered into force on 27.02.2021, thus declaring a so-called pandemic emergency.
Within the pandemic state of emergency, the Ministry of Health, regional hygienic stations and the hygienic station of the capital Prague are authorized to order emergency measures.
Failure to comply with the issued measures is under the Act qualified as an offence, for which it is possible to impose a fine of up to CZK 3,000,000 or even CZK 4,000,000 in the event of repeated violations.
The Pandemic Act will be affective until 28 February, 2022.
The Ministry of Health is proposing to extend the pandemic law until the end of August 2023, by additional 18 months. According to the amendment, emergency measures could now be issued also by the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Interior, compared to the current situation. The Ministry of Health states that if the amendment is not adopted, some of the state's tools necessary to manage the pandemic could be lost.
The amendment extends the validity of the Pandemic Act from Februar till November 2022.