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As the Czech Republic continues its struggle to contain the growing number of coronavirus infections, some have pointed to the risks associated with the thousands of drug users and homeless people living on the streets. These may not only be at high risk from the virus, but, if not isolated, could help spread COVID-19 virus in their towns and cities.

Over 4,000 Czechs stranded around the world by the coronavirus crisis have been repatriated this month, many on special government planes. The latest such flight will leave from Chicago on Tuesday evening, taking 170 Czech citizens in difficult situations to Prague. I discussed the special flight and related issues with Zdeněk Beránek, deputy chief of mission at the Czech Embassy in Washington, D.C.

The Czech civic initiative Covid19CZ was formed just a few weeks ago to try to harness technological, medical and engineering know-how to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus and treat patients in critical condition. The volunteer project now looks set to deliver open-sourced ventilators to Prague hospitals in a matter of days.

While the Czech Republic is faring better than some other European states in terms of COVID-19 infection rates, social care representatives are concerned that the state has not prepared sufficiently to handle the outbreak in nursing homes, where dozens of cases are now being registered.

With New York reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, the city’s Czech Center is now reaching the public online. As part of this new focus, it has created a series of interviews with well-known Czech figures in the city entitled Artists That Never Give Up in the City That Never Sleeps – and those interviews will also be appearing on Radio Prague International’s website in the coming days. I discussed the project with Czech Center New York director Miroslav Konvalina.

To counter the economic impact of the coronavirus, the Czech National Bank has twice this month cut interest rates, which now stand at 1 percent. But it has balked at quantitative easing – even though central bank governor Jiří Rusnok says the most pessimistic economic forecasts are the most realistic.

Amid the doom and gloom of the coronavirus epidemic, Prague Zoo has announced a piece of good news: the birth of an elephant calf. The zoo closed its doors to visitors ten days ago, but it is promising fans videos and regular reports on the newcomer.

The Prague Public Transport Company has announced that it has started treating all public transport vehicles operating in the city with an antiviral and antibacterial nanotechnology polymer coating.

Czech artists and people from the cultural sphere have been looking for ways to boost public morale in the face of the coronavirus epidemic. Those artists who saw their concerts cancelled are streaming them from their homes, actors have recorded video spots broadcast on television telling people not to lose faith, while galleries are offering viewings of their exhibitions online to the millions stuck at home for an unspecified period of time.

In times of war, it is often said, truth is the first casualty. In the midst of the battle to contain the coronavirus, Czech authorities during a customs raid last Tuesday mistakenly seized 101,600 facemasks gifted by a branch of the Red Cross in eastern China to a Chinese community in Italy. Although Czech officials apologized for the mix-up, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica on Sunday published a bogus article claiming the Czech state had “stolen” that shipment – and much more.