Czech Republic reports 14,054 new COVID-19 cases

On Wednesday, there were 14,054 new COVID-19 cases in the Czech Republic. It is the highest daily increase in the last seven weeks and the sixth-highest increase since March. The epidemic PES index has remained at 81 points to date. On the seventh day, the score, according to which measures against the spread of covid-19 are governed in the Czech Republic, remains the fifth, highest level of alert. However, the reproductive number continues to grow, indicating the average number of others infected from one positive test, which is now 1.34. The Ministry of Health website data shows that other indicators are also deteriorating, from which the value of the index is calculated.

One week ago, tests confirmed about 5,700 fewer infected than this Wednesday. The share of positive tests also continues to grow. On Wednesday, the proportion of positive PCR tests reached 37.8 percent of more than 37,000 samples, which is the highest number since the beginning of the epidemic. For faster but less reliable antigenic testing, positivity is about five percent, which, according to statistics, is, on average, over 1,000 positive tests per day.

There were 4836 patients with covid in the hospitals the day before Christmas Eve, 160 less than the day before. The condition of 642 of them is assessed by doctors as serious. Another 112 deaths were added to the statistics. A total of 10,776 people infected with coronavirus died in the Czech Republic.

Since the beginning of the epidemic, a new type of coronavirus has been demonstrably confirmed in more than 660,400 people in the country. Nearly 84 percent of them have recovered, 97,241 are now infected. Most of them have a mild course of the disease or are entirely asymptomatic. However, experts warn that the number of hospitalized, including those infected requiring intensive care, may rise significantly again in the coming days.

The national PES score scores the most stringent alert since Friday, 18 December. Five days were 76 points out of a hundred. In the last two days, the index has a value of 81. However, the country still follows measures that correspond to a milder fourth. The government will move to the fifth degree after the Christmas holidays on Sunday, 27 December.

The PES index is at the fifth level in all regions except Prague. Today, the worst situation is in the Hradec Králové region, which has 90 points out of a hundred. Most regions – six – have a score of 81 points. The other six regions have a score of 85 and higher.

On Wednesday, the epidemic situation worsened compared to the previous day for all four indicators influencing the value of the PES index, but not so far as to increase the score. In addition to the reproduction number, the share of positive tests has increased over the last seven days, reaching almost 29 percent. The development of the epidemic in the Czech Republic is assessed according to the number of new cases and the infection in the elderly.

The previous record share of positive tests from 4 November was 34.57 percent. This day also accounts for the highest daily number of newly reported coronavirus infections in the Czech Republic, namely 15,725. The Ministry of Health also publishes the shares of positive tests adjusted for repeated ones. In this case, the percentage is usually higher. 4 November also has a record, with 38.38 percent of positive people tested for the first time. In recent days, however, these data are practically identical.

From 27 December, measures will be tightened in the Czech Republic due to the disease’s unfavorable development. Service outlets will close again. Only necessities will be sold. The night curfew will be prohibited from 21:00; meetings of people outside their household will be limited to two people. These measures will apply until at least 10 January. The cabinet will meet beforehand and evaluate whether they will be needed further. The state of emergency will last at least until 22 January.

In the pre-Christmas week, the daily increases of those infected increase significantly every day – on Monday, there were almost 8,000 of them. On Tuesday, the number of new cases approached 11,000 and on Wednesday exceeded 14,000. The general antigen testing of the public, which began on 16 December, also contributes to increased new cases. Since then, about 158,000 tests have been performed, of which about 9,400 were positive, said Ladislav Dušek, director of the Institute of Health Information and Statistics, on Wednesday. Among the positive tests were about 5,200 people who had no symptoms of the disease. For antigen testing, the positivity reaches five percent. For PCR tests, which are attended by people with a doctor’s request or with a positive antigen test, it has been about 30 percent.