The coronavirus cripples the Czech Republic: The end of free movement and soldiers patroling the border. To work and back home, that's it!

Simply put, Czechs can now leave the house only for the purpose of work or settling the most urgent matters. Once they have returned home, they should remain there. The police will be monitoring compliance with the rules, but there are no specific penalties planned yet. Minister of the Interior Jan Hamáček, however, called for limiting movement to an absolute minimum in order to prevent the coronavirus from spreading the way it had in Italy.

There have been 368 deaths in the last 24 hours in Italy, which surpasses the record in China at the time of the greatest crisis.

One of the reasons is that the traditionally sociable Italians would often meet up, allowing a massive spread of the disease.

We are, contrary to expectations, not under a total quarantine. People are allowed to leave the house, if necessary. "A quarantine doesn't mean that people are locked up at home. Quarantine is in place in Italy, and people normally go to work there. We are not introducing quarantine, we are restricting free movement of persons," said Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. However, it is possible that if people fail to respect these measures, everything will continue to tighten.

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So what is allowed?

Travel to employment or for work purposes in case of business owners

Necessary visits to family or loved ones

Travel to purchase food, medicines, hygiene products and other basic necessities

Visits at the doctor's office or travel for the purpose of testing for coronavirus

Travel for the purpose of urgent official procedures (however, tax returns have been postponed by 3 months!)

Travel of people who ensure safety, health and inner order

Work of public transport drivers, catering, delivery services or social workers

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Spreading the coronavirus is a criminal offense

Spreading of coronavirus, even involuntary or irresponsible, is still considered a crime and people can go to prison for it. Breach of state-ordered quarantine can result in fines amounting to CZK 3 million.

At the moment, 2,000 soldiers are heading to the border, where they will help with monitoring the people coming from abroad. The rule still stands that foreigners are not allowed to travel to the Czech Republic (except for those who have a permanent residence) and Czechs are not allowed to leave the country.

All previous prohibitions, i.e. the organization of events, the operation of restaurants or pubs (with the exception of window sales) or the operation of swimming pools and other sports facilities, are still applicable. Newly, the operation of the following services is also prohibitied: shared taxis (f.e. Uber), shared laundries, electronics stores or accommodation services (with the exception of spas or university dormitories).

A new toll-free information hotline under the number 1212 has been launched for inquiries related to coronavirus.

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Current coronavirus numbers (March 16, 2020):

Number of people infected worldwide: 170,383

Number of deaths worldwide: 6,504

Number of countries affected: 158

Number of people infected in the Czech Republic: 293

Number of people cured worldwide: 76,611