Citizens of Prague threw a “farewell party to coronavirus”, as the country emerges out of the pandemic and ended its lockdown with just 350 deaths. A 500 metre table was set up on the famous Charles Bridge in the capital of the Czech Republic. People threw social distancing norms to the air as they attended this party in massive numbers, and shared food and drinks.
The Czech capital held the unorthodox gathering to say a “symbolic farewell” to the infection and to show residents should no longer be scared to meet with friends or visit local businesses. Local bands and musicians dotted the streets, as they danced and partied to mark the end of the lockdown.
The number of diners was limited and they all had to register through the Goout.cz website.
The event was held despite some 260 new Covid-19 cases being found in the country last week. Fears that such an event could become a super-spreader if just a few undiagnosed sufferers turned up were apparently dismissed. Notably, this country has had less than 12,000 diagnosed infections, and the leaders had enforced a lockdown that was implemented hard and early.
Largely free of foreign tourists, Charles Bridge was transformed into one long dining table – as people gathered to mark what organisers described as the end of a period of crisis, although everyone here freely admitted that such celebrations might well turn out to be premature.