Czechs celebrate "end of virus crisis" around giant banquet

A giant banquet on a table 500 meters long, covered with a white tablecloth, installed on Charles Bridge in the Czech capital: this is how the people of Prague were invited to celebrate Tuesday the lifting of most of the measures put in place against the new coronavirus. "We want to celebrate the end of the coronavirus crisis by bringing together people who show that they are no longer afraid to meet each other, to accept a bite of the sandwich from their neighbor," said AFP. Ondrej Kobza, event organizer and owner of a café. “Society should not be afraid. Otherwise, we will have an economic crisis, a depression and it will hurt even more than the Covid-19, ”he adds.

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Bringing a flower, food or drink, dinner participants cheerfully shared their meal on the 14th century bridge, a symbol of the city, and improvised orchestras played and sang around the table decorated with daisies. "I learned about this event on Facebook and I found it interesting," says Galina Khomchenko-Krejcikova, a Russian living in Prague, who came with a friend. "I just got out of work so I didn't have time to prepare anything, but we still brought wine and some food that we had at home," she adds. .

The Czech Republic, which has a population of 10.7 million, has lifted most of the measures taken against the pandemic, with some 12,000 cases reported and less than 350 dead. From July 1, Czechs will no longer be required to wear masks, except in hospitals, retirement homes, the Prague metro and two districts in the northeast where the virus is circulating among mine workers and their workers. relatives. In Prague, however, the mask will remain mandatory for indoor events gathering more than 100 people.