Coronavirus update, July 13, 2021: PCR tests confirm that the Delta variant is on the rise in Czech Republic

The share of the Delta coronavirus mutation is on the rise in the Czech Republic as shown by discrimination PCR tests, the State Health Institute (SZÚ) said in its press release. The Delta mutation is being detected more often, even though a clear increasing trend cannot be observed yet due to uneven sequencing, the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for Flu and Respiration Viral Diseases wrote. According to the data available to the NRL, the Delta variant is present in 90 percent of samples taken in Prague and Liberec Regions. Altogether, 70 percent of the PCR-analysed samples contain the Delta variant, while the Alpha (aka British) variant makes up 30 percent. From July, all laboratories in the Czech Republic have to use discrimination tests.

People who have registered for vaccination and have not yet booked the slot will have the interval of 21 days instead of the current 34 between the first and second dose of the vaccine as of July 15, Czech Health Minister Adam Vojtěch told journalists. In the afternoon, the government confirmed the decision. As a result, the interval between the doses of the vaccination will be shortened for children aged 12–15 who do not yet have the vaccination slot. Adult people with a booked slot of the vaccination or the first administered dose cannot change the time. The change only relates to the vaccination by the most frequently vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech, but in the case of Moderna and AstraZeneca, the interval remains at 25-35 and 90 days, respectively. The vaccine from Johnson & Johnson only needs a single dose.

Health Minister Adam Vojtěch said organizers of all the planned public events with over 1,000 participants would have to announce them to the relevant regional public health center as of July 19. The government made the decision Monday, he added. The new measure is to enhance the monitoring of the observance of the anti-Covid rules, such as proving the lack of infection. For the events to be staged before July 22, the duty is immediate and for the later ones, organizers must announce them five days in advance, Vojtěch said. The change in the rules is primarily due to the spread of the coronavirus among the young. The government is considering imposing further measures, Vojtěch said.

Two centers for Covid vaccination of applicants without a previous registration opened in Prague's Chodov shopping mall and the main train station Hlavní nádraží on Monday morning, with almost 100 people waiting for a jab in Chodov before the opening. The center at Chodov serves people over 16 and will take self-payers. It is giving out the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The Chodov center is open every day, from 10 am to 8 pm on work days and from 10 am to 7 pm at weekends daily from 12:00 to 19:00. Hlavní nádraží serves people over 18 and does not accept self-payers. It uses the single-dose Janssen vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. It is open daily from noon to 7 pm. Similar centers will be further opened elsewhere in Prague and also in Brno, PM Andrej Babiš said. If you have your first dose at Chodov, you do not have to get the second one there, but you can. If someone who already had a first dose elsewhere turned up for a second dose, the Chodov center would not reject them, but this is not what is preferred, Health Minister Adam Vojtěch said.

Due to the spread of Covid, three summer camps in the Plzeň region have been closed in one week and more are likely to be added. The disease is spread mainly among young people. The Regional Hygiene Station in Plzeň did not specify which camps are involved or the number of confirmed cases. The disease is again spreading more significantly in the Plzeň region, with 50 to 60 percent of new infections being young people aged 15 to 25. While Prague is still worst in the country for the number of new cases per 100,000 over seven days, now at 38, The Plzeň region is not far behind at 33. However, the Plzeň-sever district has 43.4 cases per 100,000, and the Plzeň-město and Plzeň-jih districts have over 42 infected people.

Another 239 coronavirus cases were confirmed on Monday, fewer than on working days last week bu more than on last monday, which was a holiday. The reproduction number fell to 1.37 after rising for five days, according to Health Ministry data. The number of the hospitalized slightly rose to 31, with two in serious condition. The virus is mostly spreading in Prague, and the Plzeň and the Central Bohemia regions. Authorities say this is largely taking place among young, unvaccinated people. The incidence rate of infected people per 100,000 over seven days has been growing in the past days, having increased to 13.7 by Monday from 12.6 on Sunday. This happened in most regions.