A banquet along the more than 500 meters of the evocative Charles Bridge in Prague, enlivened by dances, songs and guitars. On the night of June 30, the Czech Republic celebrated the ‘Coronavirus Farewell Party’, proud of the figures that have made it a model country in the fight against the first wave. Out of a population of more than 10 million, the health authorities recorded fewer than 12,000 infections and around 350 deaths during the first phase of the pandemic. Figures that convinced the Czechs to celebrate the victory over the virus with a maxi meeting of people protected by very few masks, as can be seen in the videos recorded during the party. But some 100 days after that joyous summer night, the Czech Republic faces a diametrically opposite scenario, which places it at the top of the list of countries most affected by the second wave of coronavirus. So much so that the government has decided to close schools, college campuses, bars and clubs for three weeks.

Prague is therefore blocked again. The country recorded a peak of more than 8,600 new cases per day on Friday. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control places the Czech Republic first among the Most affected countries, with an average of 521 infections per 100,000 inhabitants registered in the last two weeks, more than ten times the threshold of the ‘red zone’ of 50 per 100,000. But what makes the second pandemic crisis in the Czech Republic more dramatic is the death rate from Covid, also unmatched in Europe.

The Czech Republic held a coronavirus farewell party.

Thousands of people sat at a 500 meter long table on the Charles Bridge in Prague, sharing with neighbors without social distancing.

The 10M country had fewer than 12,000 infections and only 350 deaths.

Congratulations Czechia!

🇨🇿 pic.twitter.com/euQmm3ataQ

– Visegrad 24 🇨🇿🇭🇺🇵🇱🇸🇰 (@ visegrad24) July 1, 2020

Belgium, the second country in the EU by number of positive cases in proportion to the population with 429 infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last two weeks, has an average mortality from Covid of 1.8 per 100,000 inhabitants. The same parameter in the Czech Republic is more than double, with 4.1 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in the last two weeks related to the coronavirus. Indicators that not only alarmed the authorities, but also raised doubts and criticism of the preventive action of the Prague executive.

“The virus behaves differently at the beginning of the year,” justified the prime minister. Andrej Babis. But just a few weeks ago, when health authorities already pointed out the worrying multiplication of outbreaks across the country, Babis had opposed the introduction of the mandatory mask in public places, and then it gave a sensational setback.