Czech Republic reports 9,144 new coronavirus cases

There were 9,144 new coronavirus cases in the Czech Republic on Tuesday, about 2,200 more than on Monday. In a week-on-week comparison, the increase is lower again, by about 500. Compared to last Tuesday, the number of hospitalized with covid-19 also decreased by 400.

On Tuesday, 6,043 patients required hospital care, almost a thousand are in serious condition. According to the Ministry of Health. The PES score is 68 points on the second day. The reproduction number is 0.94.

Minister of Health Jan Blatný refers to hospitals’ workload during the transition to the lower fourth degree of risk of the anti-epidemic PES system. In the country, measures according to the highest, fifth-degree have been in force for a month, with the value of the score corresponding to the fourth for 14 days. In the PES system, Blatný wants to take into account, among other things, the situation in congested hospitals. The relaxation of the measure is conditioned by the fact that there will be no more than 3,000 hospitalized patients with covid, and the number of patients in intensive care units will fall below 450. Changes in the anti-epidemic system of PES will be discussed by the government tonight.

According to the daily increase in newly detected cases, the Czech Republic epidemic has been slowing down in recent days. On Tuesday, laboratories in the country performed about 27,000 PCR tests for a new type of coronavirus, similar to last week’s working days. There were almost 23,000 less accurate but faster antigen tests, a drop of nearly 16,000 compared to Monday. The total share of positive tests thus rose to 31.66 percent on Tuesday from 24 percent on Monday. The last time was higher on 10 January. When laboratories recorded more antigen tests than PCR tests on Monday, a similar development was in previous weeks.

Currently, almost 99,000 people suffer from coronavirus infection, most of whom have a mild disease course. The daily number of deaths has remained at around 120 in recent days, with 80 deaths on Tuesday. A total of 15,791 people died in the Czech Republic with covid-19.
Laboratories in the Czech Republic have detected over 956,000 infected since the epidemic began in March. Currently, the most affected region remains the Trutnov region, where they have recorded 955 infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last seven days. The Cheb region follows with 948 cases.

The PES score is 68 points on the second day. The reproduction number is 0.94.

The PES anti-epidemic risk index is 68 points and is in the fourth of five risk levels for two weeks. However, in the country, measures that correspond to the strictest, fifth-degree have been in place for a month. Of the four indicators used to calculate the PES risk score, only the reproductive number has deteriorated slightly to date, to 0.94.

The simplified reproductive number indicates how many people on average infect one positive test, increasing slightly for the tenth day in a row. It gradually rose from 0.68 to 0.94 from 16 January. When the number is below one, the epidemic slows. In terms of points, it now contributes six points to the value of the index. If the reproduction number is in the range of 0.8 to 0.9, it is for three points. If it rises above the value of one and is up to 1.1, it is added to the score of nine points.

Other criteria from which the index is calculated are 16 points for the average infected per 100,000 inhabitants in two weeks and for the fortnightly average infected among seniors also 16 points. The proportion of hospitalized with covid, in whom the infection was proven only in the hospital, is currently rated 30 points. All these indicators are declining.

The PES index reached its highest value at the beginning of the year, holding at 90 points out of a hundred for three days. As of 14 January, the score is in the fourth degree, which is limited to 61 to 75 points. Last week, the score reached 70 points on Monday and Tuesday, then rose to 73 points for three days, and from the weekend until this Monday, it was 69. On Tuesday, it fell by another issue.

The government is not yet planning to move to the fourth degree. In the PES system, the Minister of Health, Jan Blatný, wants to consider the situation in congested hospitals. The mitigation of the measure is conditioned because there will be no more than 3,000 hospitalized patients with covid. In recent days, there are around 6,000 of them in hospitals.

Changes in the anti-epidemic PES system will be discussed by the government tonight. In the fifth stage of the amended system of measures, teaching could be allowed for small classes, 9th-grade pupils and students of graduation years, or sports in two and indoors.