The COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan, Hubei, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.
The first three confirmed cases in the Czech Republic were reported on 1 March 2020. On 12 March, the government declared a National state of emergency for the first time in the country's modern history. On 16 March, the country closed its borders, forbade the entry of foreigners without residence permits, and issued a nationwide curfew. While originally planned to be in effect until 24 March, the measures were later extended until 1 April and then again until the end of the state of emergency. This was extended by the Chamber of Deputies until 30 April 2020 and then again until 17 May 2020.
National Response
By 11 March, Czech government had "shut down all schools, banned public events, limited public gatherings, closed the borders and shut all nonessential stores..." The Czech Republic was the first European country to make the wearing of face masks mandatory from 19 March onwards. COVID-19 testing was made widely available with drive-through locations from 14 March, and from 27 March anyone with a fever, dry cough or shortness of breath was eligible for a free test. From 13 April onwards, COVID-19 testing capacity significantly surpassed demand. Contact tracing in the country also included voluntary disclosure of mobile phone position and debit card payments data for previous days and the quarantining of identified contacts.
By 1 May 2020, altogether 257 COVID-19-related deaths were identified in the Czech Republic compared to 2,719 in similarly populous Sweden, which did not impose a full lockdown. However, Belgium, also with a similar population, had had 7,866 deaths at that time, despite having implemented an early and strict lockdown. The Czech Republic started gradually easing measures from 7 April 2020 onwards, with most restrictions being lifted by 11 May 2020.
However, by 17 November 2020, the Czech Republic had recorded a total of 6,416 COVID-19-related deaths compared to 6,344 in Sweden, surpassing Sweden's deaths count. By August 2021, the Czech Republic has recorded the fourth highest confirmed death rate in the world. There are some root causes speculated. A lockdown was decided in November 2020.
Lockdown Measures and Exceptions
Some measures undertaken by the Czech Republic differed in key aspects from other countries. A general curfew was in place between 16 March and 24 April, although with numerous exemptions. Apart from permitting essential shopping and going to and from work, as in other countries, it also permitted visiting relatives and allowed for unrestricted movement in parks and open countryside. A general closure of services and retail sales was in place from 14 March until 11 May; however, all shops could conduct socially distant sales with delivery through makeshift takeout windows and the gradual opening of selected shops started in several waves from 24 March onwards. The government did not order the closure of manufacturing plants, but many did so voluntarily during the second half of March, with Hyundai spearheading a gradual reopening from 14 April.
Public Response
Fear, anger, and hopelessness were the most frequent traumatic emotional responses in the general public during the first COVID-19 outbreak in the Czech Republic. The most frequent concerns of citizens were:
- fear of the negative impact on household finances
- fear of the negative impact on the household finances of significant others
- fear of the unavailability of health care, and fear of an insufficient food supply.
There were public protests concerning both lockdown restrictions and the choice to be vaccinated. Czech Pubs reopened without authorization in early January 2021, serving customers despite the threat of a fine of 20,000 Czech Koruna (~$932 US Dollars in 2021). Thousands were reported to have taken to the streets of Prague in November 2021 in protest. In January 2022, a similarly sized protest in Wenceslas Square protested against harsher restrictions on unvaccinated citizens.
There was an ongoing discussion about vaccinations and its efficiency in the Czech public space. A 2022 study published in the Scientific Reports has shown the registered numbers of deaths in the Czech Republic is approximately “3.5 times lower than it would be expected without vaccination”. Authors of the study thus concluded that “vaccination is more effective in saving lives than suggested by simplistic comparisons”.
Timeline January–July 2020
28 January
As of 28 January 2020, suspected cases were tested with negative results.
Week 9 (24 February – 1 March)
28 February –
As of 28 February 170 suspected cases were tested with negative results. 307 people were in home quarantine imposed by a regional health authority, 77 of them were in South Bohemian Region.
1 March –
The Minister of Health, Adam Vojtěch, reported that three cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed by the National Reference Laboratory. The three cases are treated at the Bulovka Hospital in Prague; one of the cases had been found in Ústí nad Labem, but was transported to the Bulovka Hospital. All cases were connected with northern Italy. One case was a man who returned from a conference in Udine, the second case was a woman (tourist, U.S. citizen) studying in Milan and the third case was a man who returned from a skiing holiday in Auronzo di Cadore.
Week 10 (2–8 March)
2 March –
Another case was confirmed, a woman who was on skiing holiday in Auronzo di Cadore and was staying in the same hotel as the man from a previous case.
3 March –
Another case was reported, a woman from Ecuador studying in Milano, a friend of the U.S. tourist who tested positive several days prior. Government started taking active measures (see policies section below).
5 March –
Four new cases were identified a Czech and an Italian who returned from Italy by the end of February, third was related to case No. 3 and fourth was related to case No. 6.
6 March –
Obligatory 14 days' quarantine for people returning from selected parts of Italy announced (see policies section below). As of 6 March 1,011 people were already in home quarantine imposed by regional health authority, 341 of them in Prague, 160 in South Bohemian Region and 63 in Central Bohemian Region. As of 6 March, some 16,500 Czechs were in Italy; spring break falls between early February and the middle of March 2020.
Week 11 (9–15 March)
9 March – Bulovka Hospital in Prague has announced that all but two tourists (from U.S. – case No. 2 and from Ecuador – case #5) have been released to home quarantine.
10 March –
Positive cases were being identified in ever increasing number of regions.
11 March –
Schools closed.
12 March –
The Czech government has declared a state of emergency for 30 days and adopted a number of measures (see policies section below).
13 March –
Brno University Hospital (a COVID-19 testing center) was hacked, disrupting services.
15 March –
Shortly before midnight, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš announced approval of the nationwide quarantine (see policies section below).
Week 12 (16–22 March)
16 March –
Starting at midnight, an hour after the nationwide quarantine declaration was approved the previous day, nearly 11 million Czech residents were placed under quarantine (see policies section below). The Czech Republic became one of the first countries in the EU to completely close its borders (with exemptions including international freight transport, see policies section below). First three people were reported recovered.
18 March –
The Czech Republic became the first country in the European Union to introduce mandatory face cover (see policies section below).
21 March –
Deliveries of protective gear purchased by Czech Government in China started: a heavy cargo plane Antonov An-124 Ruslan provided through NATO Support and Procurement Agency brought 100 tons of masks, respirators and coronavirus tests from China, while a China Eastern plane brought 7 million face masks. This helped to alleviate the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the Czech Republic. According to Security Information Service, the shortage happened after Chinese embassy conducted massive purchases of respirators available on Czech market during January and February and transferred them to China.
22 March –
First death reported: a 95-year-old man. While COVID-19 positive, at the time of death, the man was not at ICU and did not have pneumonia that is a COVID-19 specific type of death. The man had chronic heart issues and had also a pacemaker. The cause of death was formally established as a "complete exhaustion of organism".
Week 13 (23–29 March)
23 March –
The local health authority in the Moravian-Silesian Region announced that 80% of COVID-19 examinations that were conducted in the region in the previous days with use of fast-test kits that government procured and airlifted from China (altogether 300,000 kits bought by the Czech Government for total price of CZK 54 m—approximately US$2.1 m) came out wrong when double-checked through standard testing.
It was later confirmed the cause was an incorrect use where the fast-test react to an immune response and are not suitable for new patient screenings.
24 March –
A second death was reported: a 45-year-old man died after six days in a hospital in Havířov. The patient had had advanced cancer with metastases to multiple organs. The cause of death was established as multiple organ failure due to cancer but COVID-19 infection accelerated the patient's death.
A third death was reported: a 71-year-old woman died in Všeobecná fakultní nemocnice in Prague. The woman had the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as well as other illnesses, so it wasn't immediately clear that she may be COVID-19 positive. Only after being hospitalised the woman informed doctors that her relative recently returned from Italy and was then tested for COVID-19. The woman was connected to a ventilator but died three days after start of hospitalisation.
Apart from the Uber driver on ECMO, there were 19 other patients in hospitals in serious condition, all of them connected to ventilators.
25 March –
The fourth and fifth deaths were reported: The fourth death was an 82-year-old from Prague with long-term chronic health problems. The fifth patient is an 88-year-old man from the Central Bohemian Region who was at home getting treatment and had a chronic disease.
A sixth patient died at Thomayer University Hospital. The 75-year-old patient had diabetes and Parkinson's disease and also had advanced heart problems. The patient had been in the hospital since January and got infected while in post-operative care. After this patient tested positive for COVID-19, the hospital tested all 29 other patients in the same ward on 22 March, all negative. The test was repeated again on 25 March, this time with positive outcomes for 13 patients. Several of the hospital's staff had become infected earlier, probably while taking care of the Uber driver who would later become the first remdesivir receiver in the country. This patient was originally admitted with simple pneumonia without initial indication of COVID-19. Two of the infected nurses were hospitalised at the local pulmonary ward at the time of the sixth patient's death.
The government was planning to evacuate Czechs from Australia and New Zealand by the end of the week. Hundreds of Czechs still remained abroad, mainly in Oceania and Southeast Asia.
An Antonov An-124 Ruslan provided through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency arrived again with 24 tons of medical products purchased by the Czech government in China. The shipment included 52,600 protective suits, 70,900 protective glasses, 250,000 gloves, 1.16 million respirators and eight million masks. Further government purchased personal protection equipment shipments were planned for delivery with use of planes by the companies Smartwings and China Eastern Airlines, which were contracted for nine flights per week for six weeks in advance.
Commuters