RT: Czech Restaurants, Pubs Defy Lockdowns as ‘Packed Crematoriums’ Struggle to Burn Bodies

Czech restaurants, pubs open in defiance of Covid-19 rules, owners to launch ‘political movement’ to circumvent restrictions

24 January 2021

RT — Hundreds of restaurants and pubs have re-opened across the Czech Republic, defying the enduring coronavirus restrictions. The venues have been closed for months and owners say the restrictions have failed to improve the situation.

The protest kicked off on Saturday, with hundreds of restaurants and pubs re-opening on Sunday as they joined the drive launched by the Chcipl PES (Dog is dead) movement. The activist group was founded by several owners of entertainment venues, and the name refers to the Czech system, PES (‘dog’ in Czech), which regulates the restrictions.

“We have been disappointed with the government for a long time and we want to show that it had chosen the wrong way,” Chcipl PES co-founder Jiri Janecek, a manager at the Maly Janek brewery and restaurant located in the town of Jince, told AFP.

We’ve had enough and we think the ministers should consider quitting their posts. […]

‘Nowhere to retreat from here’: Packed crematoriums struggle to burn bodies of Covid-19 victims in Czech Republic, Slovakia

5 January 2021

RT — Officials in the Czech Republic and Slovakia are sounding the alarm, as crematoriums struggle with the influx of bodies of Covid-19 victims.

“The pandemic is affecting the Ostrava crematorium in such a way that they are unable to cremate all of the dead there,” regional governor Ivo Vondrak said, adding that he will ask the government for “coordination and redistribution [of the bodies] in the area.”

Vondrak told iDNES.cz news website that the crematorium in the eastern Czech city has already been using additional cooling equipment. However, it does not have the sheer capacity to handle the demand.

Ostrava Mayor Tomas Macura said the crematorium is the largest in the country – and the only one in the region.

“They are working in three shifts to cremate in three furnaces. It’s still not enough, and bodies are waiting there for cremation. Out of sensitivity, we didn’t want to publicize it for some time, but we can’t hold off any longer. Otherwise, people will not realize the seriousness of the situation.”

“There is nowhere to go, nowhere retreat from here,” the mayor said. […]