Czechs order bars and restaurants shut early, president taken to hospital with COVID

Medical staff members transport a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient, who is being transferred from a Brno hospital, in Prague, Czech Republic, November 25, 2021. REUTERS/David W Cerny

PRAGUE (Reuters) -The Czech government on Thursday ordered bars and clubs to close at 10 p.m. and banned Christmas markets in an attempt to stem one of the world's highest coronavirus infection rates.

The new restrictions also include a maximum attendance of 1,000 people at culture and sports events, stopping short of the sweeping lockdowns in neighbouring Austria and Slovakia, where infection rates are even higher.