On Wenceslas Square in Prague, hundreds of people welcome the new year with pyrotechnics
Updates: 01.01.2022 01:45
Released: 01.01.2022, 00:43
Prague – On Wenceslas Square in Prague, people welcomed the new year with pyrotechnics. Hundreds of celebrants, mostly foreigners, watched the firing of artillery and other over-the-counter pyrotechnic articles long past midnight. The police present from the amplions inform about the current rules. It has been banned from using pyrotechnics in Prague since last year. It belongs to the German monument reserve, ie Wenceslas Square. The Prague ambulance service left for 14 cases related to New Year’s Eve celebrations on Friday and today until 01:00, and firefighters dealt with 42 fires caused by pyrotechnics.
Due to the favorable weather and high temperatures in Prague in December, there was a lot of effort in the Minister of Health Vlastimil Válka (TOP 09) to prevent people from developing unnecessary contacts due to the continuing spread of the coronavirus disease. While in the afternoon the families in the historical center of Prague were mostly families with children, in the night they were replaced mainly by foreigners. In addition to Czech, English and Russian sounded mainly on Wenceslas Square and Old Town Square. According to the main company Prague City Tourism (PCT), 60,000 visitors were supposed to arrive in the city on New Year’s Eve, which is significantly less than before the pandemic.
Nevertheless, rescuers were prepared, who set up a large tent on Wenceslas Square. A number of police officers supervised security and observance of public order and anti-epidemic measures in Prague. Rescuers helped in the square, for example, men after falling from a scooter or women with allergies. They traveled fourteen times throughout the city to celebrate, five times due to an accident caused by fireworks. Around midnight, they also dealt with a train collision with a man in Klánovice. The victim was injured on the spot, Jana Poštová, a spokeswoman for the Prague ambulance service, told ČTK.
On Friday and the first hour of the New Year, firefighters intervened in forty fires caused by pyrotechnics. They put it on twitter. These were mostly minor fires of bushes, waste or pyrotechnics. Police officers detained four people on Wenceslas Square and also drove about 158 reports on line 158, mainly due to the use of pyrotechnics or because of fires and domestic quarrels, Prague police spokeswoman Violeta Siřišťová told ČTK.
There was no ban on alcohol consumption in public or limited opening hours for restaurants and bars. For the first time in 16 years, the rescue service of the capital city of Prague did not present a module for the Golem mass disaster on Wenceslas Square, the tent being a replacement for it. There were two crews on Wenceslas Square, including a doctor, and two more on Old Town Square. A coordination car was also on standby, cooperating with the police and police. An anti-conflict team, special and regional law enforcement units were also involved. The police were assisted by city police officers.
The gastronomic establishments in Prague were relatively full, thanks to the warm weather and the restaurant gardens. Staff have checked evidence of completed vaccination or covid-19 disease in the past six months. There were often more than four people at the tables, which is currently the allowable limit if they are not members of the same household.
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. Last year, Prague firefighters intervened in 18 fires related to fireworks.