Czech Republic hits record high in daily COVID-19 cases

In the Czech Republic, there are still several hundred cases of coronavirus infection per day, and the number of hospitalized and patients in serious condition is increasing.

Six hundred fifty-six new coronavirus cases were detected today, the highest daily count since the pandemic began. The worst situation is in Prague, where hygienists have registered 221 infected people 24 hours. The Czech branch of the World Health Organization (WHO) considers the spread of COVID-19 in the Czech Republic to be worrying. They warned that the country should not limit the tracing of contacts infected to those with symptoms or a severe infection course. According to the WHO, it should increase capacity. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš rejected the criticism of the WHO and told the organization to keep quiet.

The Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch (for YES) emphasized that the Czechia will not stop tracing, but he wants to change and make the system more efficient. Experts from the Ministry of Health are now discussing the change in tracing, and the conclusions should be published by Friday.

“Testing, contact tracing and isolation have no other alternative in covid-19 management. Neither in our country nor anywhere else,” saidCOVIDCzech WHO office. According to her, testing for COVID-19 has expanded considerably in the Czech Republic and shows promising results. However, data from recent days show an increasing spread of infection, an increase in hospitalized patients with COVID-19, including those in severe condition.

Babiš objected to the WHO’s opinion, according to which the Czechia is managing the situation according to the statistics of deaths in European countries per million inhabitants. He told the organization that she did not even recommend veils when spreading coronavirus and did not know a pandemic.

“Experts have now started a debate on changing the tracing system to make it more efficient. We are increasing the capacity of hygiene stations and laboratories. We are doing our utmost to keep the epidemic under control,” said Vojtech. Babiš said on Monday that hygienic stations are considering tracing only severe COVID-19 cases. Deputy Prime Minister Jan Hamáček (CSSD) offered police investigators’ assistance in tracing, if necessary, but according to the prime minister, this is not on the table now. Along with the change in tracing, Babiš also talked about the possibility that those who wore a respirator on their face when in contact with an infected person would not have to be quarantined.

According to the Prime Minister, a large number of people who have no symptoms are in quarantine. Due to the teaching staff’s quarantine, less than twenty kindergartens, primary or secondary schools, are closed in the republic. In another seventy schools, the COVID has influenced teaching, with either whole classes or groups of pupils in quarantine.

The daily increase in those infected in the Czech Republic on Monday exceeded the 500 for the sixth time since the beginning of the epidemic; by 6:00 today, 656 more people have been infected. The Ministry of Health will publish the figures for the whole day at night.

However, we can expect to break the previous record from Friday, 4 September, when the laboratories confirmed almost 800 infected.
Almost 8,800 people are currently ill, 234 of whom are treated in hospitals for the infection. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Health, 62 patients with COVID are in serious condition, which is the most since 29 April.

According to epidemiologists, the current situation with coronavirus is the worst in Prague. From Wednesday, drapes will be mandatory in the capital again and in shops and malls. Restaurants, bars, and clubs will have to be closed from midnight until 06:00.

From 14 September, veils will also be mandatory in schools’ common areas, but in many of them, this measure is already in place. Hygienists are considering further changes from next week. The changes could concern, for example, the extension of wearing veils to all indoor spaces. Prague hygienists will help find contacts for people infected with COVID-19 by unoccupied workers in hygiene stations from other regions.

Researchers from the Olomouc Faculty of Medicine today presented to journalists a new screening rapid test for COVID-19, which can detect the presence of coronavirus and detect infection in asymptomatic individuals in the acute phase of the disease about an hour after collection. Rapid tests could be used at cultural, sports, or social events or in mobile laboratories.

The Ministry of Regional Development (MRD) today published a call for the COVID accommodation program. Operators of accommodation facilities, which had to have closed operations from March to May due to government measures, will apply for a state subsidy from Friday 11 September to the end of October.