The Czech Republic is introducing a quarantine bonus payment of 14 euros as part of its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

President Milos Zeman signed a law on Friday stipulating that employees receive the equivalent of up to 14 euros a day (16.7 dollars) if they are in a quarantine officially ordered by authorities.

The payment will be paid in addition to the continued payment of wages in the event of illness, amounting to 60 per cent of earnings.

According to the government, many infected people have not disclosed the names of people they were in contact with out of concern that they would cause financial disadvantages to friends and relatives.

The Czech Republic currently has the highest rate of new infections in the EU.

More than 800 people per 100,000 inhabitants were infected with the coronavirus within the past seven days.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been almost 1.3 million infections and 21,325 coronavirus-related deaths in the country.

“In almost all regions, the burden on hospitals is extremely high,” Health Minister Jan Blatny said.

The more transmissible British coronavirus variant is gradually spreading across the country and becoming the dominant form of the virus. (dpa/NAN)