Covid-19: Czech Prime Minister admits he ‘got carried away’ in re-opening too soon
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Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis stunningly admitted that Government had made a mistake when it eased restrictions aimed at containing coronavirus over the summer.
His mea culpa came as governments across Europe struggle with a second wave of Covid-19 infections following the holiday months in which the number of cases began rising sharply.
“Even I got carried away by the coming summer and the general mood. That was a mistake I don’t want to make again,” the billionaire populist said in a televised speech.
Babis also announced the appointment of a top epidemiologist as health minister on Monday after the previous minister quit amid a spike in COVID-19 infections that has led to the country’s total cases doubling within just three weeks.
The Czech Republic’s spike in cases has been the second fastest in Europe on a rolling two-week basis after Spain when adjusted for population. On Monday, the total tally of cases grew past 50,000, up from 24,618 at the end of August.
The jump comes after the country – which was very quick to take strong measures to avoid mass spreading in the spring – loosened restrictions more than many others in the summer. It also comes just before regional elections less than two weeks away.
The surge has markets nervous, with the crown falling more than 1% on Monday to a nearly four-month low of 27.225 to the euro amid worry new restrictions could come into play and hurt an economy recovering from a record 11% year-on-year contraction in the second quarter.
In a televised address on Monday evening, Babis repeated the government did not want mass lockdowns like those in March that shut businesses, restaurants and schools. He urged people to stick to existing measures and wear face masks.
Babis picked Roman Prymula, who helped lead the central European country’s response to the initial coronavirus outbreak, to replace Adam Vojtech, who quit on Monday after growing criticism.
