«We hope that the vaccine will solve many problems»

Series: Families and Corona worldwide - Part 5

Sales manager Filip Andrések, 35, and his wife Markéta, 35, owner of a travel agency, live with their children Emma, 7, and Jakub, 3, in the Czech town of Brno. They are glad that the two-month lockdown is over, even though the situation in the country is still alarming.

What is the current situation with the coronavirus in your country?

The Czech Republic is currently in the second wave of the pandemic. After two months of lockdown, we are slowly returning to normal life. Shops, restaurants, hairdressers and other service businesses are open again. A maximum of four people are allowed to sit at a table in restaurants and there is a curfew, currently from 10 pm. However, this changes regularly.

Masks are compulsory in public, with the exception of kindergarten children. The situation is different at primary school: children have to wear a mask all day at school. However, only 1st and 2nd graders are currently attending school, with older children slowly returning from distance learning.

What is the work situation like for you and your wife?

Markéta is the owner of a travel agency specialising in trips to the Arab world. Her income has been almost zero since March. It's a difficult time for the travel industry, as quarantines and travel bans mean nothing is happening. I am the sales manager of a translation agency in Brün and have been working full-time from home since March.
Because Markéta currently has no income, I had to negotiate special conditions with my employer. I got a better position and a higher salary. So we can live on my salary at the moment. But we can't make big leaps and we have to manage our budget well.

How is childcare organised?

Normally the children are in an after-school care centre, but this is closed due to the current situation. We are therefore looking after the children ourselves. As we are both working from home at the moment, we don't need any alternative childcare. When the children are not at school or nursery, we are there for them.

How close is Corona? Have you been in isolation or quarantine yourself?

Fortunately, we have all remained healthy so far. However, several people in our immediate vicinity have been infected. If we come into contact with a potentially infected person, we voluntarily go into quarantine. We try to avoid contact with large numbers of people and minimise contact with friends and family. We also avoid places with large gatherings of people.

Christmas is just around the corner: do you already know how you're going to celebrate?

Our parents and older people in general belong to the risk group. It is therefore likely that we will only meet outside for a walk and will forego the big Christmas party this year. It's an exceptional situation and we're trying to protect vulnerable groups.

How do you experience the situation as a whole: has corona opened new doors for family life or rather caused additional stress?

We see the coronavirus situation as alarming and take the risks very seriously. Government regulations restrict us, but we respect them. The situation is difficult, but we have adapted to it and hope that the vaccine will solve many problems.

What do you want for 2021?

First and foremost health, but also serenity and happiness. We want life to return to normal, just as it was before coronavirus.
Read about the situation in France in part 6 of our series Families in everyday coronavirus life around the world. You can read all the family portraits published so far here: Families and Corona worldwide.

More about Corona:

• «Corona vaccination for children: in one year at the earliest»
  What are the latest findings on the role of children in the current coronavirus crisis? And: Can a school require a corona test? Prof Dr Christoph Aebi provides important answers.

• «No one can be forced to have the coronavirus vaccination»
  The announced vaccination against corona brings hope for many people, but at the same time many fears arise. Franziska Sprecher, Director of the Centre for Health Law and Management in Healthcare, talks about mandatory vaccination for specific groups of people and the question of whether schools can require vaccination.

• How much coronavirus can parents put their children through?
  The second wave of coronavirus is here and every day we are confronted with news of new infections and new guidelines. How much should parents expect their children to be exposed to? And how do you react when the virus is really close; affecting friends, relatives or the child itself? Adolescent psychologist Nadine Messerli-Bürgy provides answers.
• Coronavirus dossier
  In this dossier, all articles containing relevant topics for families are collected on an ongoing basis.