When face masks stocks began running low in the Czech Republic with the aim of slowing the spread of COVID-19 “They said the face masks were desperately needed I have been a sewing professional in the past They said the face masks were desperately needed Pulova is a member of the region’s Roma community and was responding to a widespread shortage of face masks sorely needed in the country: as part of its emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic the government made the wearing of face masks mandatory on 19 March it soon became clear that there were not enough masks for essential workers with people dusting off old sewing machines and putting them to use spurred on by social media groups and websites Pulova’s former colleagues provided her with a sewing machine and friends and other people provided the material: although non-essential shops had been ordered to close as part of the government shutdown an exception was soon made for stores selling materials needed for textile face masks The face mask issue has helped to unite Czech society with many different kinds of people contributing to the cause some companies have made old stock available and the movement has given many members of the population an opportunity to become directly involved in fighting the spread of the virus The Roma community is not the only Czech minority group taking up the challenge migrants and minorities have also been mobilizing to help out the Vietnamese community set up an account that its members could contribute to which is being used to fund the production of single-use protective masks that are being delivered to hospitals and care homes for the elderly singers and elite athletes can be seen sewing masks online and many politicians and experts have worn home-made masks on TV "We see a number of fascinating stories emerging from marginalized groups united for one goal: to help stop the pandemic" that works for minority integration and documents their issues and stories. "Let’s hope we retain that spirit beyond the crisis“ The current official guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) is that healthy people should only use them if they are taking care of someone who is suspected of being infected with COVID-19 “Wearing face masks at all times by people without symptoms is not a policy recommended by the WHO” the social benefits of the face mask movement and its impact on cohesion and unity among people of different communities Pulova and her friend Renata Fecova have already made 1,000 masks Their example continues to be followed across the country with hundreds of thousands of home-made face masks being produced and made available in public spaces for those essential workers who continue to serve the public Preparation of designs for the coin – competition conditions (pdf, 895 kB) – in Czech only Technical preparation of the coin – competition results – in Czech only On 13 May 2014 the Czech National Bank is putting into circulation the seventh gold commemorative coin from the Bridges cycle It features the Jizerský bridge on the Tanvald-Harrachov railway line The coin is minted from 999.9 purity gold and is issued in two versions which differ in surface treatment and edge marking Proof-quality coins have a highly polished field while normal-quality coins have milled edges Deviations in diameter of 0.1 mm and thickness of 0.15 mm are allowed Upward deviations in weight of 0.062 g and in gold content of 0.01% are allowed The obverse side of the coin features a composition of heraldic animals from the large national emblem – the Czech lion at the top the Moravian eagle in the middle and the Silesian eagle at the bottom The emblems of the towns of Tanvald and Harrachov are located to the left of the composition of heraldic animals The name of the cycle “MOSTY” is written above the emblems of the towns with the denomination and abbreviated monetary unit “5000 Kč” below The name of the state “ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA” is located around the upper The reverse side of the coin shows a side view of the Jizerský bridge on the Tanvald-Harrachov railway line The text “JIZERSKÝ MOST NA TRATI” is written on three lines to the right of the bridge and the text “TANVALD – HARRACHOV” is located around the bottom The year of mintage “2014” is located above the bridge The coin was designed by the painter Vladimír Pavlica whose initials “VP” in a frame can be found to the left of the first pillar of the bridge Each coin comes with a red catalogue card containing a description and the relief of the coin The Czech National Bank sells its commemorative coins through contractual partners licensed to trade in numismatic material CNB offices in the Czech Republic 7 February 2019: Arriva has this week signed a new three-year contract operating four express rail lines from Prague to the Czech cities of Tanvald The contract was awarded by the Czech Ministry of Transport following a direct award Arriva will operate services for three years from December 2019 with the option of an extension of up to two years It will mean that Arriva will expand its train fleet in the Czech Republic from 8 to 35 27 newly refurbished trains will be sourced from Deutsche Bahn with passengers set to benefit from wider and more comfortable seats This latest win builds on Arriva’s existing success in the Czech Republic Arriva entered the emerging Czech rail market in 2013 and today operates urban rail services in Prague and a long distance service to Slovakia Arriva started operating the S49 line in Prague for the next 10 years said: “The addition of these four express lines to our rail portfolio is a testament to how we’re continuously developing successful transport solutions for our clients We look forward to delivering the fast and reliable services that our passengers expect of us.” Arriva Czech Republic entered the Czech market in 2006 eventually becoming the bus transport market leader with approximately 20% share The company established itself around the major cities of Prague while also building out in the regions of Central Bohemia Arriva is one of the leading providers of passenger transport in Europe employing over 60,000 people and delivering more than 2.4 billion passenger journeys every year one of the world’s leading passenger transport and logistics service providers Arriva is responsible for Deutsche Bahn's regional passenger transport services outside of Germany Arriva operates across 14 European markets: the Czech Republic; Croatia; Denmark; Hungary; Italy; the Netherlands; Poland; Portugal; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia