Final Word from Monday, February 1, 2021

The cabinet closed the borders on Sat. to most foreigners and made mountain hotels off-limits to families, but in one respect PM Andrej Babiš and his ministers enacted the biggest easing of the covid-19 measures in more than three months. No longer is it illegal for people living together in the same household to shoot the breeze or otherwise engage in non-essential contact. It remains illegal for anyone else to engage in non-essential contact, but as of Sat., members of a single household have an exemption. (Compare the wording of the new government order here to the old one here.) This is the first time that family members have had any special treatment. The ban on non-essential contact was first imposed on March 16, 2020, and it lasted until April 23. It was then reinstated on Oct. 22 and lasted until Jan. 30. The cabinet and the police rarely if ever enforced the ban on idle family chats, but it was on the books for a total of five months. Hardly anyone even objected. [ Czech Republic more than necessary limit ]