Forbidden pyrotechnics, four people at the table. New Year’s Eve celebrations will limit the epidemic
The Czechia will welcome the new year at midnight. Like last year, the celebrations will be marked by a covid-19 pandemic. Although the spread of coronavirus infection has been slowing in the last week, the government has decided to temporarily tighten epidemic measures at the turn of the year, fearing the spread of the omicron variant. Therefore, the maximum number of guests at the table is limited to four until the end of the New Year’s weekend. The number of participants in New Year’s Eve parties is also limited.
New Year’s Eve celebrations on the night of January 1, 2021 in the Jižní město housing estate in Prague.
| Photo: ČTK
People who decide to celebrate the arrival of the year in 2022 in a restaurant must take into account that there can be a maximum of four guests at one table instead of the current six. The restriction does not apply to people who share a common household. For New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Eve, a maximum of 50 people can attend. Only people with completed vaccinations or those who have undergone covid-19 in the last six months are still allowed to enter restaurants, clubs or bars.
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Last New Year’s Eve, anti-epidemic measures were more pronounced than this year. At that time, the Czechia was at the highest level of epidemic risk. This meant, among other things, a ban on leaving from 21:00 to 05:00, the closure of restaurants or hotels and limiting the number of participants in mass events to two people.
Last year’s reduction in celebrations was reflected, among other things, in a lower number of fires. In total, firefighters in the Czech Republic went to 185 fires on New Year’s Eve 2020 and New Year’s Eve 2021. It was about half the number a year earlier. However, firefighters warn that data from previous years show a steady increase in fires related to the use of pyrotechnics.
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In Prague, the use of fireworks has been banned in selected places since last year. These include the monument reserve, nature parks and protected areas, the surroundings of watercourses and islands, dams and dikes. The ban also applies in the vicinity of the Troja Zoo and homes for the elderly and other residential social facilities. The list of places is on web municipality. There is a ban on the release of so-called lucky lanterns throughout the city.
According to the city company Prague City Tourism (PCT), 60,000 visitors could reach the capital on New Year’s Eve, which is significantly less than before the pandemic. Although there will probably be fewer people in the streets, there are also ambulances ready to set up a large tent on Wenceslas Square. Hundreds of police officers in Prague will supervise security and observance of public order and anti-epidemic measures, they informed web police spokeswoman Violeta Siřišťová. The police will also aim to control the order.
Compared to previous years, the welcome of the new year on January 1, 2022 in Prague will be complete without fireworks organized by the city or projection on buildings, so-called videomapping. Due to the covidu-19 pandemic, the municipality decided not to hold the event. The welcoming of the new year did not take place even a year ago.
The turn of the year will be extremely warm. On New Year’s Eve, temperatures climb to 14 degrees
New Year’s fireworks have been canceled or reduced by other cities this year. For example, in Turnov in the Semily region, it will have to do without stall sales and a cultural program. There will be no fireworks in Litomyšl or Česká Třebová. On the other hand, the inhabitants of Ústí nad Labem will not be deprived of the New Year’s fire on Saturday.
The turn of the year will be accompanied by extremely warm weather in the Czech Republic. On New Year’s Eve, temperatures in the Czech Republic will rise to 14 degrees Celsius, so Friday will probably become the warmest day of December this year. On Saturday, January 1, the thermometer climbs to 12 degrees. However, it will be colder in Moravia and in the north-east of Bohemia in the coming days, according to the weekly forecasts Czech Hydrometeorological Institute.
