COVID-positive Czech president appoints new PM in ceremony behind glass

PRAGUE — Czech President Milos Zeman appointed the leader of a center-right alliance, Petr Fiala, as prime minister on Sunday in a ceremony he performed from a plexiglass cubicle after testing positive for COVID-19.

Fiala leads a bloc of five center and center-right opposition parties that won an election in October, ousting the incumbent premier Andrej Babis and his allies.

The new government will have to tackle a new wave of coronavirus infections that is threatening to overwhelm hospitals and an energy crisis, after the collapse of a large electricity provider. The coalition has also said it plans to rework the 2022 state budget to reduce a large deficit.

"The new government has a very complicated time ahead and many challenges... I want it to be a government of change for the future," Fiala said at a televised news conference, adding that he expected his cabinet to be appointed in mid-December.

The new prime minister also called on people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and praised medical staff as cases are on the rise.

Only 58.5% of Czechs are vaccinated against coronavirus. This compares to an average to an European Union average of 65.8%, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

President Zeman performed the inauguration ceremony from a plexiglass cubicle after testing positive for coronavirus. Zeman, who came in a wheelchair escorted by a medic in full protective gear, contracted the virus after a six-week stay in hospital for an unrelated illness.

The outgoing government has toughened measures on Thursday, including a ban on Christmas markets. — Reuters