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The Czech Republic’s Health Minister will lose his job after visiting a Prague restaurant in what appeared to be a violation of emergency coronavirus regulations that he had introduced in an effort to win the country’s increasingly desperate battle against the coronavirus.
Roman Prymula, an epidemiologist and the main architect of Czech regulations, was photographed Wednesday night by the tabloid Blesk leaving the establishment, which appeared to be illegally open to high-profile guests, hours after a new blockade was imposed to combat the country. increased caseload.
His political fate seemed sealed when Prime Minister Andrej Babiš told him to resign or be fired and said he hoped to appoint a new health minister. Babiš delivered his verdict on Prymula and one of his closest allies, Jaroslav Faltýnek, the head of his Ano party’s parliamentary delegation, at a press conference on Friday in response to the restaurant visit.
“We cannot preach water and drink wine. I believe that the minister should lead by example without more, ”he said. “That is why I have asked the minister to resign. If you don’t, I’ll fire you. I asked Mr. Faltýnek to resign as first vice president of the Ano movement. I’m really sorry, he apologized to everyone for that. “
However, in a brief press conference, Prymula said that he had no intention of resigning and that he had not violated any measures as he did not meet directly at the restaurant. His comments came after the Prague city council announced that it would initiate “administrative proceedings” against him, Faltynek and the restaurant.
Prymula was photographed without a mask, also breaking the rules, getting into his ministerial car alongside an official driver after leaving Rio’s luxurious restaurant in the Vyšehrad district of the Czech capital.
“Prymula literally laughs in the face of all those who accept its rules in a disciplined manner,” Blesk wrote in an accompanying article.
The harmful images appeared on Thursday, a day after the Czech Republic, with a population of 10.7 million, recorded 15,000 cases of Covid, prompting a rare public apology from Babiš.
All restaurants, bars and pubs have been closed to customers indoors since last week in a government decree issued under a state of emergency introduced on October 5 and due to expire early next month, but which has not so far. managed to stop the growing wave of Covid cases. .
Prymula, 58, a reserve army colonel, took office last month with a mandate to take tougher action to stop a sharp reversal of the country’s relative success in controlling the pandemic, the first wave, when he won praise for introducing an early closure that included regulations requiring the use of masks in public places.
He has become famous for his stern public statements containing pleas for the public to stay home and show discipline to stop a growing caseload that he warned is close to breaking the Czech healthcare system.
The revelations prompted accusations of hypocrisy and demands, even from fellow ministers, that Prymula resign, prompting Babiš to act.
On Thursday, there were 14,151 more cases, bringing the total number of active cases to 133,995. About 4,800 people were hospitalized, 735 of them in critical condition.
A record 113 Covid-related deaths were recorded on Wednesday, bringing the total death toll to 1,845.
