A plane from China carrying more than a million respiratory protective masks for the Czech Republic landed in Prague on Friday, the government said. " The plane contains 1.1 million FFP2 masks which will be immediately distributed to hospitals and other places, " said Interior Minister Jan Hamacek at a televised press conference at the airport in Prague.
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The Czech government has been criticized recently for insufficient supplies of medical equipment, which has prompted thousands of Czechs to make homemade masks, while authorities have prohibited people from leaving their homes without covering their noses and mouths.
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On Saturday, the government expects another plane with millions of additional masks and a large cargo plane with more than 100 tonnes of medical supplies from China. The Czech Interior Minister said he expected three planes with medical equipment to arrive from China every week for at least the next six weeks. An aircraft with 150,000 rapid virus tests, also from China, has already landed in Prague on Wednesday.
Schools, pubs, theaters, cinemas and other common gathering places remain closed in the Czech Republic, which reported Friday morning 774 confirmed cases of the virus, three patients cured and no deaths.