Friday sees number of new coronavirus cases rise in Czech Republic

Friday saw 4,745 new cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus, Health Ministry statistics show. That is an increase of nearly 300 cases compared to the Friday the week before. It is the second day in a row that the number of cases has been growing. The reproduction number has meanwhile grown to 0.96.

This has also led to a rise in the ministry’s PES number to 59. In the previous 13 days the number had kept at 57 points. The PES (Counter-Epidemic System) scale indicates the level of the coronavirus threat in the country on which the severity of government measures is based. If the PES number were to reach 61, the government would have to return to harsher measures, including the closure of restaurants and night curfew at 11pm.

As of Saturday, visits to care homes for seniors are allowed again. Visitors have to first test negative for COVID-19, or prove that they have been infected with the virus in the past three months and have since successfully recovered. A respirator also has to be worn during the visit.