The Czech Republic reported 111 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday. This is the highest daily increase since April 21.

The laboratories performed 7349 tests. The ratio of infected COVID-19 compared to the number of people tested rose to 1.51 percent on Monday. It is the highest percentage from the beginning of May.

The rise is partly due to an outbreak reported by state-owned coal miner OKD at its Darkov mine near the eastern town of Karvina, close to the Polish border, Czech Radio reported.

The Ministry of Health published the new data today (Tuesday, May 19) at 9 am.

The Czech Republic had 8,594 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection by Tuesday morning. So far 5,642 people have recovered and 299 people have died.

In the first week after the reopening, IKEA stores in the Czech Republic were visited by 135,650 people. In the year-on-year comparison, IKEA doubled the sales. The store in Prague’s Černý Most between May 11 and 15 saw a 28 percent increase in attendance compared to last year.

Meanwhile, the government eased the regulation which obliges people to wear face masks in public. As of Tuesday, May 19, office workers will not have to wear masks at the workplace if they observe the social distancing requirements.

Czechs no longer need to wear face masks in most public spaces starting on May 25, in the latest easing of restrictions it put in place to curb the new coronavirus outbreak.

But people will soon only need masks on public transport, in shops and in other closed public spaces that also include theaters and cinemas. The government kept in place a recommendation for people to wear them in open-air spaces.

The government is also planning to further ease travel to and from countries deemed safe of risks from the coronavirus from June 8, Health Minister Adam Vojtech said on Monday.