Czechs protest restrictions on unvaccinated as cases soar
Protesters are marching through the Czech capital of Prague to decry the government’s new restrictions on unvaccinated people
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Protesters marched through the Czech capital of Prague on Monday to decry the government’s restrictions on unvaccinated people as new infections soared in the European Union nation.
The protesters, who numbered in the hundreds, demanded “Freedom!” for the unvaccinated and rejected the government’s push for people to get their vaccine shots.
They carried posters with pictures of politicians — including Prime Minister Andrej Babis Health Minister Adam Vojtech and leading epidemiologists — calling them traitors. Unlike recent rallies in the Netherlands and Brussels, this protest was peaceful. The crowd was significantly smaller than a similar demonstration last week.
New restrictions to tackle the Czech Republic's infection surge became effective Monday and target the unvaccinated. Unvaccinated people are no longer allowed to show negative coronavirus tests to attend public events, go to bars and restaurants, visit hairdressers and museums or use hotels. People who are vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 can visit all those sites.
The measures were approved in an effort to increase the country's vaccination rate of 58.1%, which is below the EU average of 65.5%.
Coronavirus infections in the Czech Republic have been on a steep rise, hitting a new record twice last week. The infection rate surpassed 1,000 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days for the first time, reaching 1,002, the Health Ministry said Monday.
Overall, the nation of 10.7 million has registered over 2 million cases with 32,173 deaths.
___
Follow all AP stories on the pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.