Mandatory Blanket Testing of Employees in the Czech Republic
The Czech government has mandated blanket testing of all employees at companies with over 250 staff, they will have to conclude the first round of testing no later than March 12th. This also applies to all employees at companies with over 50 staff by March 15th. In the next two weeks, around 2.1 million employees will be tested. Photo: Ministers at the press conference after the government meeting on March 1st. Photo Credit: Vlada.cz.
Written by Kim Bingel, edited for Jobspin.
Czech Rep., Mar 3 (JS) – In response to an unprecedented number of coronavirus cases, the Ministry of Health has ordered mandatory blanket testing of employees. On Monday March 1st, the Czech government approved the extraordinary measure.
According to the new measures, large- and medium-sized companies must test all employees in order to continue operating during the pandemic. The state will fund four tests per employee per month. Employees working from home are not required to be tested.
“We are not stopping industry. However, comprehensive testing in companies will be mandatory. This makes them part of the solution to the Covid crisis,’’ said Karel Havlíček (ANO), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade.
Průmysl nezastavujeme. Plošné testování ve firmách bude ale povinné. Tím se stávají součástí řešení covidové krize. Do 12.3. musí mít první testy všichni zaměstnanci firem nad 250 zaměstnanců, do 15.3. pracovníci podniků 50-249.
— Karel Havlíček (@KarelHavlicek_) March 1, 2021
By Wednesday, all companies with over 250 employees must have antigen tests ready to start blanket testing of employees for coronavirus. By Friday, the company must contact employees to be tested, and from March 12th, any employee who has not been tested in the past seven days will not be allowed to enter the work premises. Companies with more than 50 employees must complete testing no later than March 15th.
At a press conference on Monday, Jan Hamáček (ČSSD), First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, confirmed that the government is discussing ways to encourage companies to send as many employees to work from home as possible.
