Firms want clear conditions of easing anti-coronavirus measures

The Confederation of Industry appealed to the government to submit by Easter a clear plan for easing coronavirus-related restrictions as businesses need time to prepare for the resumption of operations, Radek Spicar, vice-president of the Confederation, said.

In order to get a one-off payment of Kc25,000, sole traders will not have to submit evidence regarding a drop in their income. All sole traders hit by the coronavirus situation and running their business before March 12, the day the state of emergency was declared, will be eligible for the payment, Finance Minister Alena Schillerova told server iDnes.cz referring to an amendment to the bill.

Household expenses fell by 23 percent after March 16, when quarantine started. People stopped buying clothing and cut markedly expenses in restaurants, spending more on food and medicines, Ceska sporitelna bank which analysed its clients' payments told CTK. E-shops reported a 44 percent increase in sales. Food expenses soared by 215 percent and online purchases of meals from restaurants skyrocketed by 286 percent, said Ceska sporitelna analyst David Navratil.

In the second week of the government's crisis measures, the share of firms out of operation sank by 11 percentage points to 67 percent of businesses. Entrepreneurs had some knowledge about the situation, which helped them restart at least partially their operations, according to data of O2 eKasa.