PRAGUE, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, or the lower house of the parliament, on Tuesday voted to extend the state of emergency put in place against the novel coronavirus in the country until April 30.

After a heated five-and-a-half-hour debate, the lower house agreed to extend it till the end of April, though the cabinet originally proposed for the state of emergency to be extended until May 11.

Opposition members were fierce in their criticism, demanding the government to present a clear path to normalization. The cabinet has promised to outline one after the Easter holiday.

"I admit that we have not proceeded correctly or ideally in many things," Minister of the Interior and the head of the Central Crisis Staff Jan Hamacek told deputies.

The state of emergency, originally in place until April 11, required parliamentary approval to be extended longer than the initial 30 days.

"The Czech Republic is faced with an exceptional situation that requires exceptional solutions. An emergency extension is in place. Protecting the health and preventing spread is a priority. We cannot be sure that we have managed the epidemic completely despite the positive signals," Health Minister Adam Vojtech said on Twitter after the voting.

As of Tuesday evening, there are 4,944 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country with 172 recoveries and 88 deaths. Enditem

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