Czech Republic reports record daily COVID-19 cases as shops shut

The daily increase in new cases of coronavirus in the Czech Republic has accelerated again. On Wednesday, almost 15,000 new cases were added. Laboratories detected 14,968, about 3,000 more than on Tuesday. There are now 124,000 infected in the country, according to the Ministry of Health.

So far, 1,739 people have died with covid-19 in the Czech Republic, 253 so far this week. There were 100 victims on Monday, the most in one day so far.

Since March, 208,915, people have been infected in the Czech Republic. Of these, 83,136 were cured. Although most of those infected have a mild course of the disease, the number of hospitalizations has been growing significantly in recent days. There are 4417 patients with coronavirus in hospitals, about four times more than at the beginning of October. According to the ministry’s latest data, the number of severe cases is 657, has tripled in roughly the same period.

More than a quarter of the total number of tests performed has always been positive in the last eight days. The number of tests itself is also growing. On Tuesday, the laboratories performed more than 40,000 of them for the first time. Almost 30 percent were positive. The ministry will publish Wednesday’s balance sheet of tests this evening.

The number of infected people in the Prostějov region is now increasing the most. In the last seven days, there have been almost 882 new cases of covid-19 per 100,000 inhabitants. The situation in the Zlín region is only slightly better, where the number of 879 infected people per 100,000 inhabitants has increased in the past seven days. The districts of Hradec Králové and Plzeň-jih also recorded more than 800 cases.

On the contrary, the relatively best epidemic situation is in the Cheb region, where there are 266 infected people per 100,000 inhabitants. Karviná is still below the limit of 300 new cases.

Due to the rapid spread of the disease, retail sales and services are banned today, with a few exceptions. People can only buy essential goods. Even in large shopping centers, only grocery stores, drugstores, or pharmacies will be open. Exceptions to stores’ closure are also stores of fuel, feed, and supplies for animals, glasses, or newspapers and magazines. From the closure of services, car repair shops, consignment dispensaries, florists, haberdashery, electronics, and household appliances services were exempted from the government.

Movement of people and meetings with others is kept to a minimum, except for trips to work, shopping, the doctor, or the family. According to the Minister of Health Roman Prymula, restricting the free movement of people is the most effective form of preventing coronavirus spread. According to him, the capacity of the health care system would not be enough if the movement were not restricted on Wednesday. In addition to the most necessary routes, people can also go to nature or cottages. However, only two people can meet unless they are members of the same household.