prague under quarantine

I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but things continue to change by the hour here in Prague.
 
In my last post, I reported that the whole Czech Republic went into full quarantine on Monday. That meant:

• Only grocery stores, pharmacies, some post offices and bank branches, hospitals and doctors' offices were open.
  
• People were required to work from home if possible.
• You could leave your house only to go to/from work (if you’re not working from home); to buy groceries, medicines and other necessities; and to walk your dog.
  

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yet more restrictions

During the week, we were given even more restrictions:

• As of Wednesday, you had to wear a mask inside shops and on public transport, and
• Then the next day, we were required to wear a mask at all times when you leave your house.
• And the following day, the hours of 7 a.m. to 12:00 noon were designated for senior shopping only.

But most pharmacies were sold out of masks a long time ago, in which case you had to make your own. Videos went around the internet showing people how to make them, and friends were offering to help others make them if they needed help.

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but some restrictions were waived

So, as a result, we also experienced the loosening of some restrictions:  fabric shops were allowed to open so that people could buy fabric to make masks. So that can be added to the list of shops above that are allowed to operate. And in another move, the government decided to let florists and garden shops open. Why? Because this is the time of year when people plant gardens, so the government wanted people to be able to buy seeds.

Basically, the measures that have been put in place here are the ones that are now being put in place in the US, and what we’ve been through – including adjusting to a new normal (for now only, we hope) in our daily routines – is what you are and will be experiencing in the coming days and weeks. You will adjust and get through it. All of us here are thinking of you!

we're all in this together!

And now there's talk here of going even further:  soon ALL grocery stores might close and only home deliveries of food will be allowed, and people will not be allowed to leave their homes except in cases of emergency. That's because we had a jump in confirmed Coronavirus cases of more than 200 overnight last night.

Let's hope it doesn't come to that for us or for you.  We're all in this together!

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