Czech minister says pandemic worse than WWII

A Czech government minister said Sunday the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic were worse than those of World War II as she argued in favour of reopening schools.

Schools, restaurants, cinemas, theatres and most shops have been closed on and off since March last year in the country of 10.7 million people.

"Even World War II didn't cause as much trouble as Covid. Children went to school," Labour Minister Jana Malacova said in a TV debate.

"Covid is a disease that has made the country stop working for a year, the country is at a standstill, the entire economy is struggling," said the Social Democrat.

The Czech Republic has registered more than one million confirmed coronavirus cases including over 17,000 deaths, and ranks among Europe's worst-hit countries in terms of cases and deaths per capita.

Malacova later tried to backpedal, saying she did not mean to dishonour the more than 70 million victims of World War II.

"I'm just trying to show we have to find a way out of these blanket closures," she said.