Czech parliament extends state of emergency due to Ukraine refugees

The Czech parliament has approved an extension of the country's state of emergency until the end of May, as refugees from the war in Ukraine continue to arrive in large numbers.
So far, 300,000 refugees from Ukraine have reached the Czech Republic, around half of whom are children.
In Tuesday's vote, 82 lawmakers supported the extension while 62 opposed it.
The state of emergency was declared in early March by Prime Minister Petr Fiala, giving the government greater decision-making powers and allowing aid to be better coordinated.
The Czech Republic is one of the countries to have received the highest number of refugees fleeing the conflict.
Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said: "We all know that we will soon reach the limits of our capacities - and I say openly that we will then need help from other states."
Meanwhile, far-right lawmaker Tomio Okamura called for the intake of war refugees to be capped, arguing that there were also Czechs in need, and noting that, due to the coronavirus pandemic, a state of emergency had existed in the Czech Republic for a total of 284 days in 2020 and 2021.