Czech COVID-19 Hospitalizations Drop for First Time in 2 Weeks

Czech health authorities reported a drop in COVID-19 hospitalizations on Sunday, the first significant decline in more than two weeks as health officials work to slow the spread of the disease.

The state said 7,370 people were hospitalized with lab-confirmed infections, down from a high of 7,673 on Saturday.

Decreases in the number of hospitalizations have been recorded only in a few days in October, by only one or two dozen people.

However, the number of patients in serious condition remained approximately the same compared to Saturday, more than 1,150 people.

It will take several more days to see whether the trend holds, and a single day’s worth of the data can be skewed by delays in reporting, especially right after a weekend.

Last week, the Czech Republic has shown the world’s second-fastest infection rate per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) data.

In the last ten days, the virus has spread most significantly in the Benešov region, (1,353 infected per 100,000 inhabitants) followed by Rakovnicko region (Central Bohemia), with 1,312 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

The Czech Republic reported 6,542 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday. There are 180,797 active cases currently. Deaths have climbed by 178 to 3,429.