News

Friday should see temperatures range around 15 degrees Celsius. It should be sunny in Western Bohemia, with much of the rest of the country at least partly overcast.

Wednesday saw 4,431 people test positive for Covid-19 in Czechia, of which 1,373 were reinfections, data published by the Ministry of Health indicates. There were 440 more cases than on the same day the week before. Currently, the number of coronavirus patients in hospital lies at 866, 23 of whom are in serious condition. Statistics show that a total of 45 patients infected with coronavirus have died over the past week.

The incidence number – the average number of cases over the past seven days per 100,000 people – has increased to 148. It is currently highest in the Hradec Králové Region (167). Meanwhile, the lowest number of cases is being registered in the Karlovy Vary Region (100).

Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský called on Russia to “immediately cease its military actions and withdraw all its troops from the entire territory of Ukraine." He slammed the Putin regime for its "complete disregard” for the resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly, and called on the UN to rally and stop Russia’s colonialist war in Europe.

The Czech foreign minister stressed his country’s commitment to fully supporting the sovereignty, unity and independence of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, saying Czechia would never recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea or the sham referendums to be held in the occupied eastern parts of the country.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský will also address a session of the UN Security Council in New York on Thursday. Mr. Lipavský told Czech Television his speech would focus on the current security situation, Russia's intention to annex other parts of Ukraine, and the proposal to establish an international tribunal on Russian war crimes. It will be the first address to the UN Security Council by a Czech politician in 30 years.

More than 70 percent of employers are feeling considerable pressure for wage hikes from employees or jobseekers compared to January this year, according to a survey by the Hays recruitment agency. The majority of companies said they were resisting an across-the-board wage increase to make up for inflation, preferring to increase wages individually and use perks such as extra holidays and home office as an added bonus. A survey by ManpowerGroup this week indicated significant movement on the Czech labour market with 33 percent of companies saying they plan to hire new employees and 22 percent planning to downsize.