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The coronavirus outbreak is forcing Czech consumers to change their shopping habits, the daily e15 reported on Tuesday. The number of cash withdrawals from ATM machines dropped by nearly 50 percent since the government declared a state of emergency in mid-March. At the same time, Czech banks have reported a steep increase in electronic payments.

Following a pause brought about by the arrival of the coronavirus epidemic, the company Lime is reintroducing its distinctive green, black and white electric scooters to the streets of Prague. The Czech capital is one of the first cities where Lime’s operators are resuming services.

The Czech Republic has been for years considered one of Europe’s leading countries in terms of alcohol consumption per capita. But recent data on the sales of spirits in the country suggest Czechs might not be such heavy drinkers after all.

Traffic at Prague airport has been steadily declining since a state of emergency was introduced on March 12 and since the Czech Republic’s borders were closed, Czech Radio reported this week.

The Czech Republic’s culture sector has been responding to the government’s freshly announced plans to slowly get the country’s economy moving again. Booksellers say they fear for the existence of outlets, while festival organisers say they are still awaiting official guidance.

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.