Thousands protest in Czech city against poor communication on COVID-19

Several thousand demonstrators gathered Monday on Masaryk Square in Ostrava, in the northeastern part of the Czech Republic, to protest against the government and Ostrava Regional Hygiene Station's handling of a COVID-19 flare up in the region, reported Xinhua quoting local media.

About 2,000 people attended the demonstration, Czech News Agency (CTK) reported. Organizers claimed that the authorities failed to properly inform local citizens about the reintroduction of restrictions related to COVID-19.

The government also underestimated the COVID-19 outbreak in the Karvina District in the Moravian-Silesian region and failed to communicate with the public, demonstrators noted.

On Friday, the regional hygiene station tightened measures almost immediately after an outbreak was announced, including restricting events to a maximum of 100 people and closing bars and restaurants at night, which caused complaints from local people.

After a meeting of the Security Council of the Moravian-Silesian Region, health department officials stated that the measures will be deferred and reviewed through proper channels in the future.

Health Minister Adam Vojtech said that the tightening of measures taken in the region were necessary but there's a mistake as the director of the Regional Hygiene Station in Ostrava failed to communicate with both the local government and the public.

The Karvina district, where an infection cluster appeared in the OKD mining company in May, saw an increase of 48 infected per 100,000 population in the past week, the highest number in the country at the moment, according to figures from the health department.