Prague, Feb 22, (dpa/GNA) – The Czech Republic’s Constitutional Court on Monday retroactively declared some of the government’s coronavirus containment measures unconstitutional.
A spokeswoman for the court said the measures included the closure of shops between January 28 and February 14, with the judges arguing that the measure had not been adequately justified.
The decision that flower and weapons shops had been allowed to remain open while others had to close their doors was arbitrary, the court found.
The court did not consider the containment measures currently in place, even though they are almost the same as the ones imposed earlier this year. Non-essential shops remain closed in the Czech Republic.
The opposition nevertheless welcomed the verdict. It showed that the government should not simply « conjured bans like rabbits from a hat, » Christian Democrat Marian Jurecka said on Twitter.
With 968 coronavirus infections per 100,000 inhabitants within 14 days, the Czech Republic is currently the worst-hit country in the European Union.
On Monday, the Health Ministry in Prague reported 4,002 new cases within 24 hours. The overall number of infections currently stands at 1.1 million and the number of coronavirus-related deaths at 19,330. The EU member state has around 10.7 million inhabitants.
