Czech Republic reports 14,353 new coronavirus cases

Newly confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Czech Republic continue to decrease in the week-on-week comparison, but hospitals’ pressure does not ease. Since Sunday, when the number of patients with severe covid-19 disease reached its highest level in more than a year of the epidemic, it has moved more elevated every day.

There were 1,916 of them on Wednesday. Around 200 people die of the disease every day. The number of covid-19 vaccinations given was also a record on Wednesday. Still, only a quarter of people already have confidence in the government’s ability to deal with the epidemic, according to a STEM survey.

There were 14,353 new infections on Wednesday, which is about 900 less than a week ago. According to data on the Ministry of Health, the total number of hospitalized with covid-19 after a record 9,000 on Monday and Tuesday fell slightly to Wednesday’s 8734, according to data on the website of the Ministry of Health. Daily deaths of around 200 are now the highest since November.

In the last week, 1390 healthcare professionals became infected with coronavirus, about a hundred less than a week ago. There are currently about 3134 patients, of which 338 are doctors.

Today, Kladno is one of the hospitals with a declared state of mass disability. Due to the overcrowding, patients with covid-19 may not meet the current standard in 12 Central Bohemian hospitals. On the other hand, the Cheb region was one of the districts with the smallest number of new infections, and one month ago, it was one of the areas most affected by the infection.

The number of people affected by the epidemic has been rapidly increasing in recent times. At the moment, there is 55 percent of them, eight percentage points more than in November, the STEM survey showed. Only a quarter of Czechs believe that the government is doing well in the epidemic now, compared to 83 percent last spring. “In all monitored countries, there has been a decline in confidence in the management of the coronavirus pandemic since spring 2020.

However, nowhere is it as dramatic as in our country,” the authors of the survey warned. According to him, 42 percent of Czechs are convinced that the government certainly does not manage the situation. In November, it was 27 percent.

The rate of vaccination is increasing. The daily number of applied doses was the highest on Tuesday and Wednesday. According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, almost 40,000 people received the vaccine on Wednesday. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš spoke about 47,000 doses on Wednesday before leaving for Israel. Since the end of December, when vaccination began, medics have given almost 950,000 doses, with about 280,000 people already receiving both required amounts.

Today, Babiš spoke with the prime ministers of Israel and Hungary about the possibility of joint development and research of vaccines; in the Czech Republic, he has so far been vaccinated against covid-19 with three approved substances.

The first deliveries of the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, which in EU countries was approved today by the European Commission, could arrive in the Czech Republic at the end of April, Smart Quarantine announced. The State Institute for Drug Control (SÚKL) has so far recorded 11 cases of deaths that may have been related to vaccination against covid-19. It also records 1506 suspected vaccine side effects.

The Minister of Health Jan Blatný (for YES) stated today in the Chamber of Deputies that companies should provide mandatory antigen testing of employees. They should not send workers to public testing points. The Ministry of Industry advised in the first version of the instructions for companies on testing the use of general sampling points. As a result, free testing deadlines are almost unavailable. Testing in companies will be necessary until the end of May, although the epidemic will ease, Blatný added.

The Minister of Education Robert Plaga closed the topic of official school-leaving examinations in the Chamber of Deputies today, which Babiš started talking about last week as an opportunity for this year. Students would receive an evaluation according to the average of marks for the period of study. According to him, the modified compromise form of this year’s graduation, which Plaga presented on Wednesday, is the final version. An official high school diploma would also require a change in the law.

In the Chamber of Deputies, protective plexiglass will probably be around the seats of non-attached deputies Lubomír Volný and Marian Bojek, who refuse to wear respirators or drapes despite government anti-coronavirus regulations, the chairman of the lower house, Radek Vondráček (YES), announced. Former President Vaclav Klaus is one of those who refuse to take government action. His stay in his apartment in the Černý Důl ski resort at a time when the closure of the Trutnov region was already in force will be dealt with by the Vrchlabí Municipal Authority at the initiative of hygienists. According to the Václav Klaus Institute, the ex-president consulted the police in advance about the trip’s conditions, so he did not break the government regulation.