PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech government has re-declared the state of emergency for next two weeks to be able to tackle the coronavirus pandemic in one of the European Union’s hardest-hit countries. The decision comes in defiance of the lower house of Parliament, which has refused the minority government’s request to extend the powerful tool that gives the Cabinet extra powers to impose and keep in place nationwide coronavirus restrictions and limit people’s rights to work and travel. Some lawyers and politicians say the government’s move violates the country’s Constitution. The government denies that, saying its legal advisers support such a solution. The Czech Republic is fighting a fast-spreading variant first found in Britain and has the EU’s second-worst current outbreak after Portugal.
Czechs re-declare state of emergency to keep restrictions
