Whooping cough is on the rise across Europe, and the Czech Republic is no exception. However, a week marked by confusion surrounding official guidance and a controversial public appearance by Prague’s mayor has left some wondering if anything was learned from Covid-19.

In the first week of January, say the Czech authorities, there were 28 registered cases of whooping cough.

That figure now stands at 3,084 – a number not seen since 1963.

Sufferers include the 80-year-old mayor of Prague, Bohuslav Svoboda, who is an MP as well as an eminent gynaecologist.

Coughing and spluttering his way through a parliamentary health committee meeting, a clearly irritated Dr Svoboda questioned why he had to be there in the first place.

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