
The Czech authorities recorded 506 new coronavirus cases on Friday, the highest number of new infections in one day since the outbreak began.
Czechia has so far reported 21,551 confirmed cases of the virus, with 411 deaths, including 19 over the past week.
The Czech government was among the first in Europe to introduce curbs on movement and business as the outbreak took hold. It began to lift restrictions since May but has reintroduced some measures as cases rose in recent weeks.
Face masks will once more be compulsory on public transport, at health and social care facilities, and in state office buildings from Sept 1, but the government rowed back on a requirement to wear masks in shops, restaurants, and common areas of schools.
Outdoor public events including soccer, which start new league season this week, may be attended by up to 5,000 people, if separated into sections of 1,000, and indoor events can host up to 5,000 in separate sections of 500.
The government plans to further relax restrictions on public events from September.
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According to Czech Health officials, at least 60 new Covid-19 cases have been linked to a party hosted in Techtle Mechtle on Saturday, July 11.
More than 120 people connected to the outbreak have since been put into quarantine.
The incident suggests just one “super-spreader” could have acted as catalysts for the spread of the disease.
According to Zdeňka Jágrová, Director of the Prague Hygiene Station, “the main spreader of the infection was an asymptomatic person, probably a young woman.”
The party was also attended by some football players from the reserve teams of Sparta Prague, Dukla Prague and Bohemians 1905
Bohemians had to interrupt the training of the youth teams. “The situation does not affect the A-team. The players are currently on holiday and we will start the preparations for the new season on July 27,” the club reassures the fans in a statement.
The number of active coronavirus infections topped 5,000 in the Czech Republic for the first time after labs reported the highest daily rise in nearly a month, the health ministry said on Wednesday.
The Czech Republic had 14,324 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection, with 212 new infections on Tuesday night. So far, 360 people have died. At the moment, there are 647 infected people in Prague.
Last Friday, authorities tightened restrictions in the northeast of the country, reinstating compulsory face coverings, limiting restaurant opening hours and ordering checks on cross-border commuters.
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The Czech government confirmed on Saturday, July 11, that Serbia and Montenegro were added to the list of countries with a high coronavirus risk.
As a result, Czechs need a 14-day quarantine or a COVID-19 test upon returning to their home country.
Serbia
Serbia recorded 18 fatalities and 386 new cases over 24 hours in what Prime Minister Ana Brnabic described as a “dramatic increase”.
A wave of new infections came after a number of sporting events were allowed to go ahead amid minimal social distancing.
These included a tennis tournament organised by multiple grand slam champion Novak Djokovic, who tested positive for coronavirus along with three other participants at his ill-fated Adria Tour.
To date, Serbia has logged 370 coronavirus deaths and almost 18,000 cases.
Montenegro
In the last 24 hours, 58 people out of 468 tested on coronavirus were conformed positive, the country’s Institute for Public Health said on Friday, the FoNet news agency reported.
It added that there were 733 active cases.
Since the beginning of June, ten people died in the coastal republic, while in the last 24 hours, five patients recovered.
Podgorica declared the end of the epidemic on June 2.
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The daily number of new cases in the Czech Republic jumped to 260, the highest since April 8, Ministry Adam Vojtěch confirmed on Sunday morning.
As CT reports, that is nearly triple that of the 93 recorded on Thursday.
Chief public health officer, Jarmila Rážová, said the rise was due to massive screenings in areas where the virus is spreading quickly, including a mine in Silesia Region and a company in the north.
She also said that Czechs “did not behave in a responsible manner” when restrictions were relaxed after the health situation in the country improved. “However, the outbreak is under control and confined to local clusters,” she added.
On the contrary, according to Vojtěch, the situation in Prague is calming down. “The number of cases in Prague is declining over time,” he added.
The number of tests performed on Saturday (1,862) is lower by about half compared to Friday’s (4,300 tests).
The Czech Republic has had 11,306 confirmed cases while 347 people have died, according to Health Ministry figures released on Sunday morning.
There are currently 3270 patients. Most of them have a mild course of the infection, 122 are hospitalized.
The government has gradually removed most restrictions, apart from wearing masks indoors and limits on pub opening hours and large cultural events.
Last Monday, public gatherings of up to 1,000 people are allowed.
After 73 days, restaurants and pubs in the Czech Republic were able to open their indoor premises on May 25. According to new data from Storyous, a quarter of restaurants, along with some pubs and cafes, did not re-open after the coronavirus lockdown.
Storyous, a cloud POS system – which supplies cash register systems to 3,000 businesses in the Czech Republic, shows that almost 25 percent of restaurants, bistros, and bars remained closed.
“The number of indoor premises on Monday, June 1, was the same as last week. It is possible that a quarter of the restaurants will not open at all,” said the CEO of Storyous Igor Třeslín.
Stouryous maps individual companies through their cash registers. Restaurants can also create orders for suppliers through the system. “At the moment, 22 percent of companies have EET turned off in the cash registers,” added Třeslín.
“The average restaurant or small pub will have probably about two to three weeks cash flow in reserve, that ran out and we have staff not getting money as businesses have no money to give them. Even if you lock up your building, there are fixed costs, alarms, security, insurance. All of that goes on, people are at their wits’ ends,” says Daniel Kolský from Café Jedna, which has officially closed after six years.
“The current situation is not economically sustainable for us. Our goal will be to find someone to take over the business and continue what we have been trying to build for three years,” stated the official Facebook page of Miska Ramen.
Other bars have turned to technology to help adhere to social distancing.
Lubos Kastner, who runs several bar-restaurants in the Czech Republic, said his outlets have QR codes on the tables that fire up the menu on customers’ smartphones, allowing them to order without a member of staff having to come over.
“We’re operating on a reduced capacity until spring 2021 by which time hopefully they will have a treatment or a vaccine,” adds Kastner.
Yet many of Europe’s breweries and bars might not have that long. They need an antidote to financial ruin, and soon, or the hangover may prove to be fatal.