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Deputy prime minister and minister of trade, Karel Havlíček has indicated that the Czech government is working to resolve the present lack of respirators for the home market once and for all. He says there is a project in the pipeline for respirators to be produced in the town of Olomouc, which would fully cover the country’s future needs.

The Czech government has unveiled details of an economic aid package to help entrepreneurs hit by the coronavirus crisis and try to prevent massive lay-offs with a kurzarbeit scheme. Further measures, such as a moratorium on mortgages and loans, are expected to follow.

Czech booksellers are reporting a significant rise in online sales of books and board games, following the closure of mortar-and-brick stores due to the coronavirus outbreak. At the same time, book-sellers warn the surge in online sales can hardly cover the loss in physical book sales.

The Czech government plans to obtain finance in the wake of the coronavirus crisis through loans and the sale of bonds, the minister of finance, Alena Schillerová, said on Tuesday, adding that she had agreed on this course with Czech National Bank governor Jiří Rusnok.

ING’s latest economic and financial analysis on the economic costs of Covid-19 predicts the Czech Republic will show negative GDP for full-year 2020. The volatility of the Czech crown will remain “extra elevated”, it says, given the positioning-related moves in the currency and the risk of central bank interventions.

The government’s recent measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus have impacted around 20 percent of businesses in the country, a lightning survey conducted by the Czech Chamber of Commerce (HK ČR) has found. Most expect sales revenues to drop by 40 to 60 percent. Those hardest hit are the self-employed and small businesses.

The Czech government and central bank have announced further measures to offset the impact of the coronavirus on large firms, small businesses and households. While economic growth is certain to drop steeply in the near term, the authorities and experts note this country is better prepared than most to weather the storm.

This Monday morning the Prague Stock Exchange (PX) fell to its lowest point since the economic crisis in April 2009, after losing 30 percent of value over the past month. Meanwhile, the value of the Czech crown has fallen both to the euro and the US dollar.

There is a sufficient quantity of food reserves in the Czech Republic, with food processors having prepared plans and supply routes secured, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has asked Czechs to stop panic buying in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Agriculture Ministry stressing that people do not need to horde food. However, in some goods, such as pork, self-sufficiency is not present, the Czech News Agency reports.

The Czech economy is in relatively good condition to face a potential global economic downturn, the governor of the Czech National Bank, Jiří Rusnok, said on Czech Television on Wednesday.