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Statements posted on the Health Ministry website on Saturday morning revealed that on Friday, authorities recorded 8,800 new confirmed coronavirus infections, the highest number of cases per day since mid-November. The proportion of tests that were positive increased to 27.7 percent. The spread of the epidemic rose to 1.27 on Friday, signifying an acceleration in the spread of the disease.
In the Czech Republic, the coronavirus epidemic peaked in early November, when the number of daily infections surpassed 15,000 and the positive test rate surpassed 38 percent. After a few weeks of improvement, the epidemic situation began to deteriorate again in early December. Based on an official 100-point chart divided into five risk bands, of a third band valid for only about two weeks, the entire country returned to a tighter fourth band on Friday.
Based on the decision of the Czech government, therefore restaurants and hotels closed again on FridayAlthough shops and services are an exception this time, they can open and operate under certain conditions. However, the night curfew came into effect again. Cultural institutions have closed again and sporting events must continue to be held without spectators. The government has also allowed ski resorts to operate from Friday, but mountain hotels and guesthouses will remain closed.
However, the number of hospital admissions remains at around 4,600, of which around 600 can be classified as serious. According to experts, it is a positive phenomenon that these indicators have not changed much for more than a week, and the workload of hospitals is much less compared to the previous conditions. The field hospitals built in October in Prague and Brno were not yet needed. The number of daily deaths is still below one hundred. About 60 people died on Friday, according to figures so far. Since the outbreak in March, as of Friday 10,271 people have died from complications of the disease.
A national screening of the population with antigen testing also began on Wednesday. The voluntary and free promotion runs from December 16 to January 15. Interest is high across the country, and authorities estimate that around 1.5 million people could be tested by mid-January. In the first three days, about 5 percent of the tests showed infection.
A formal decision on public order and precautions is expected during the Christmas holidays on Monday. It has already been announced that despite the night curfew, midnight Masses will be celebrated, but churches can only be filled with believers to 20 percent of capacity. Traditional New Year’s Eve street events are prohibited. Most of the settlements also abandoned the games of lights and fireworks.
The Czech government has announced that it will ask parliament to extend the state of emergency for one month, which expires on December 23. Parliament will address the issue on December 22. The opposition parties do not agree to the extension, so a compromise solution is expected.
(MTI)
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