Czech Republic reports 14,457 new coronavirus cases

The number of new coronavirus cases in the Czech Republic continues to rise, with laboratories confirming 14,457 on Thursday. That’s about 2,800 more than a week ago and almost 700 more than on Wednesday. The hospitals’ workload is not easing. About 7,200 are hospitalized, of which a record 1,531 patients were in serious condition on Thursday. The number of deaths with covid in the Czech Republic is almost 20,000. The Ministry of Health currently records 19,999. According to the Ministry of Health.

The growing coronavirus epidemic has forced the government to plan to restrict free movement and contact even more for three weeks. From Monday, 1 March, he wants to ban movement between districts, close kindergartens and schools, and another part of shops. Today, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (YES) will discuss the measures with the opposition. It will call for an extension of the emergency state, which he said is needed to introduce restrictions.

Minister of Health Jan Blatný (for YES) expects daily increases of up to 20,000 infected. “Even if the measures are set, and everything succeeds, even the most optimistic models still say that an increase of up to 20,000 newly diagnosed people a day can be expected as a culmination point. And then only a decrease,” Blatný said after Thursday’s government meeting.

So far, the most positive tests in one day since the beginning of the epidemic in March last year were detected by laboratories on 6 January, when they confirmed 17,765 infections. A total of 1,212,780 people have become infected in the Czech Republic since the beginning of the epidemic, and over 1.055 million have recovered from the disease.

The workload of hospitals remains high. The government will ask Germany and Poland for help with patients with covid-19. In the Czech Republic, according to data from the Ministry of Health, 14 percent of beds are available in ARO, and intensive care units (ICUs), and 162 are available for patients with covid. About 650 standard oxygen beds are still single for those infected—so-called reprofiled beds, otherwise intended to provide care of another type of expertise.

The number of severe cases has increased in recent days, their number has risen by about fifty compared to Wednesday, and there were a record 1,531 on Thursday.

The reproduction number showing the spread of the epidemic has risen by about a hundredth to 1.19 to date. The risk index of the anti-epidemic system PES initially intended to govern measures against the spread of covid-19 in the Czech Republic remains at 75 points on the second day. He is thus close to the fourth of five levels of alert.

It has been vaccinated against coronavirus in the Czech Republic since 27 December. Since then, according to the ministry, nearly 624,000 doses of vaccine have been given by Thursday night, and approximately 233,000 people have received both needed doses. Nineteen thousand three hundred sixty-four doses were administered on Thursday, about 300 less than the previous Thursday.