Covid summer wave continues to rise
The "summer wave" of Covid-19 that the Czech Republic is currently experiencing, which started at the beginning of June, is continuing to gain momentum. According to the latest Ministry of Health data, in the last seven days, 14,710 new cases of coronavirus were recorded, about 4,500 more than in the previous week. The highest number of infected people recorded on a single day this week was on Tuesday, when tests revealed 3,235 cases, while on other weekdays the numbers stayed below the three thousand mark, although each day was still significantly more than the same day of the previous week.
725 people are in hospital with covid, almost a third more than at the end of last week and the most since the end of April. The number of patients in a serious condition has doubled in a week to 29. The highest incidence number, i.e. the number of newly confirmed cases in the last seven days per 100,000 inhabitants, is in Prague, where it rose to 227, compared to the country-wide incidence number, which is 138. The majority of infections are with the more infectious submutations BA.4 and BA.5 of the omicron variant. Experts expect the summer wave to peak at the end of July, but numbers may remain high even after that.
Although the number of tests is slowly increasing, not as many people are getting tested as before due to a request form from a doctor or hygiene station being required since May for a free covid test. According to some estimates, this means the real number of infected people could be several times higher.
In the last two weeks, there has been a growing interest in vaccination against covid-19. From Monday, people can get vaccinated with the second booster dose. About 6.88 million people have been fully vaccinated against covid in Czechia so far, with about 4.26 million people having received a booster dose of the vaccine.
There are no general measures against the spread of the virus in the country, but some hospitals and social facilities have mandated the wearing of respirators. Minister of Health Vlastimil Válek recommends that people use nose and mouth protection in public transport, although the government does not want to impose formal restrictions.
