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Among the many coronavirus measures introduced by the Czech government is a “kurzarbeit”, or short-time working, programme. Under the scheme the state will make up some of the income lost by employees whose work is reduced by factory outages, helping firms avoid redundancies. The idea has received widespread backing, including from the Czech Confederation of Trade Unions, headed by Josef Středula. I discussed it – and the outlook in general – with the unions chief.

The Ministry of Health has developed a special information system that delivers complex up-to-date data on the evolution of the coronavirus epidemic and provides prognosis models on possible development. The system monitors the number of infected, their current state and needs regarding medical care, the capacities of hospitals, as well as people tested and quarantined, updated by the minute which should enable faster and coordinated decision making in view of saving lives.

Nearly half of the Czechs who were quarantined after returning from Italy, broke the government order, data released by an independent IT initiative shows. It was collected by analysing anonymous card payment details and is just one of the ways in which big data is being used to keep better track of COVID-19 and its spread. The government has also stepped in, giving patients the option to share their movement with hygienists.

Czech schools forced to lock their doors because of the coronavirus crisis will reopen in mid-May at the very earliest, the minister of education said on Monday. Plans are in place to make sure the usual round of end-of-year exams go ahead in some form. However, the current term will not be extended into the usual holiday period.

The coronavirus pandemic has sparked a global scramble for face masks and respirators. Most of the world's face masks are made in China and Taiwan, which currently find it hard to satisfy demand, and scientists are racing to find alternative sources. A team of researchers at the Czech Institute of Computer Science, Robotics and Cybernetics (CIIRC) has developed a high-grade respirator that can be printed on industrial 3D printers or produced by injection molding technology.

Dana Zátopková – one of the greatest Czech sportswomen of all time and a national sweetheart – died last Friday at the blessed age of 97. The winner of two Olympic medals and one-time world record holder in the javelin-throwing category was also known as the wife of the legendary runner Emil Zátopek.

Since emergency anti-coronavirus measures went into place, Vietnamese shops across the Czech Republic have been offering refreshments to health and rescue service workers. Hundreds of cornershop and restaurant owners have put up signs featuring red hearts to signal they are taking part in this act of solidarity.

Scientists across the world are working to better understand the novel coronavirus now affecting hundreds of thousands of people. The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, part of the Academy of Sciences, is doing its part by studying the proteins through which the virus spreads in the body.

The most frequent question being asked these days in connection with the coronavirus epidemic is how long can it last. The Slovak daily Denik N on Thursday published a prognosis compiled by the country’s Institute for Health Policy which lists three possible scenarios, the most likely of which sees the epidemic peaking in 110 days. What is the situation in the Czech Republic and why have Czechs not seen a similar prognosis?

A lonely 350-year-old Czech tree of the Scots pine variety – defiantly rooted on the rocky headland of a dam overlooking a village flooded in the 1950s to build it – has been voted European Tree of the Year.