PM unhappy with COVID-19 situation, says he will discuss efforts with health minister

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš says he will discuss the current state of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in the country with Health Minister Adam Vojtech this Wednesday evening. The Czech Republic saw its worst rise in coronavirus cases for a month on Tuesday and crossed the mark of 5,000 active cases in the country. Mr Babiš said earlier in the day that he does not like the way in which the situation is developing and that it is necessary to act fast.

The prime minister was also critical of the length of time it is taking to create an efficient network of state testing laboratories instead of relying on private facilities and said that the situation in the heavily affected Moravian-Silesian Region points to problems in the competency of testing. He also said he does not understand why the Faculty Hospital in Ostrava does not have a testing facility and that it is necessary to improve communications between the regional hygienist offices.

For his part, Health Minister Vojtěch said epidemiologists will re-evaluate the current growth in new coronavirus cases and that he will present their analysis at Monday’s government meeting.  He also dismissed talk of a “second wave” of the virus, saying that the tackling of the spread of the virus is very dependent on the local situation in the country’s individual regions.