
The Czech Republic reported the highest daily number of new COVID-19 cases since November 11 on Friday after the number of new positive tests rose to 8,800, which is about 2,600 more than the previous Friday.
The share of infection cases in relation to the number of tests performed reached 27.7 percent, the highest since November 14.
Czech PES (Protiepidemický Systém) score rises to 76, which corresponds to the fifth level. The health authorities are now debating the possibility of further tightening restrictions.
The reproduction number R rises from about 1.22 to 1.27, according to the Institute for Health Information and Statistics.
The coronavirus reproduction rate indicates the average number of people one sick person can infect. When the rate is equal to or below 1, a region can start to ease restrictions, provided there are enough vacant hospital beds.
In total, 619,000 cases have been detected since the pandemic started. There are 76,943 active cases currently, the highest since mid-November. The number of hospitalized patients is at 4,694, ticking up again after falling by around half from a peak of more than 8,000 in early November. Deaths have climbed to 10,271.
The Czech Republic moved to the fourth 4 PES level from Friday, December 18.
Shops and services can remain open, restaurants, hotels, fitness centers, museums, and galleries are now closed. The night curfew has been renewed from 11 pm to 5 am.
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