Prime Minister Andrej Babiš says that the Government may look at the lifting of coronavirus restrictions once “the daily increase of infections drops to 1-2 thousand.”

At the moment, the daily average of new COVID-19 cases during weekdays is stable at 8-10 thousand, while during weekends it drops to 2-5 thousand.

According to Minister of the Interior Jan Hamáček, “the epidemiological situation in the country is improving, but it is too early to relax the restrictions since the burden on hospitals is still high.”

PM Babiš added “that it will be possible to talk about a significant lifting of quarantine restrictions only when the number of patients in hospitals drops to two thousand. Currently, there are 6,330 hospitalized people.”

The government is likely to approve seeking from lawmakers a one-month extension to the state of emergency powers that should expire this week.

It will also discuss some changes to strict anti-COVID measures to allow shops selling stationery and children’s clothing to open.

The anti-epidemic risk index (PES) in the country decreased to 70 points, which corresponds to the fourth level of risk.

The only exception is Prague, which switched to the third level since the risk score has been stable at 60 points.

The worst situation is registered in the Karlovy Vary region, where the index remains at 81. In the Liberec, Hradec Králové and Olomouc regions, the risk score is stable at 76 points.

Foreign minister tests positive

Czech Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček said on Monday he had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Petříček, 39, the fourth government minister to contract the virus, said he felt tired but had no severe symptoms. He canceled planned meetings except for those online.

“Take care, take care of your close ones. I wish strong health to everyone,” Petříček said in a statement via a spokeswoman.