Coronavirus update, Oct. 19, 2021: Czech Republic reports more than 2,500 new cases in a single day

Covid numbers significantly grew in the Czech Republic in the past two weeks and the infected are mostly people of working age and children. Even though fewer than one in 10 infected is over 65, seniors make up more than 50 percent of hospitalizations, Health Ministry data shows. Currently, roughly 20 people over 65 are hospitalized with coronavirus infection every day. The average age of these hospitalized patients in October is 56 and 75 in the case of the fully inoculated. Some 80 percent of the elderly over 65 have been fully vaccinated against the disease. However, the efficiency of the inoculation tapers off gradually over the course of time.

So far, some 42,000 people have had the third Covid shot. Data suggest that some 873,000 people received their second dose six months ago and are therefore currently eligible for the third jab.

Public health officials plan to conduct nationwide inspections Nov. 4 and 6 to check compliance with anti-epidemic measures, the Health Ministry said. The regional public health offices' heads and chief public health officer Pavla Svrčinová decided on the dates of the checks at their meeting yesterday. Since the spring, public health officers have carried out some 45,000 checks, Svrčinová said recently. She encouraged health officers to impose higher fines for violations. On Friday, she said the law on misdemeanors sets the level of the fines correctly, but not all regional health offices are used to imposing higher fines.

The government of ANO and the ČSSD did not discuss proposals yesterday to shorten the validity of tests for Covid-19, shorten quarantine, or end the payment of preventive tests from health insurance. The government wanted to discuss the proposals at the meeting but is waiting for the opinion of the future government coalition. If it obtains an additional opinion, the cabinet may meet later this week, Health Minister Adam Vojtěch told Czech Radio Radiožurnál (ČRo) earlier. Finance Minister of Alena Schillerová said that the VAT waiver for respirators and related protective equipment will also apply in November and December. The minister will sign a tax exemption document on Tuesday.

The European Union has exported more than 1 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines to more than 150 countries, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen President said. According to her, the EU exported the same volume of vaccines as it used for the citizens of the member states. Over three-quarters of the EU's adult population already have completed vaccinations.

The European Union began exporting vaccines last December Most vaccines produced in the EU went to developed countries that had pre-ordered them from European manufacturers. The EU will donate in the coming months at least 500 million doses to the most vulnerable countries, von der Leyen said. "We knew that we will only beat COVID-19 if we fight it everywhere," she said.

The worldwide death toll from Covid-19 has exceeded 4.9 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. The largest number of casualties since the beginning of the pandemic is recorded in absolute numbers in the United States, where more than 724,000 people have died, according to JHU. This is followed by Brazil (603,000 dead), India (452,000), Mexico (284,000) and Russia (219,000). Reuters reported 5.1 million deaths yesterday, while 4.87 million died with Covid according to AFP, and ourworldindata.org reported 4.9 million dead.

The spread of Covid increased sharply with 2,521 new cases reported for Monday, up from 1,341 a week earlier. It was the highest number of new cases since April 27. The number of people hospitalized and the number of deaths related to Covid also increased significantly. There are 544 people in hospitals with Covid-19, the most since the end of May, and 95 people in serious condition. A week ago, 406 people were hospitalized. Eight Covid-related deaths were reported for Monday. There were 54 Covid-related deaths in just the last week, which is 10 more than in the whole of September. The toll so far for October is 91.

The incidence number of newly infected per 100,000 over seven days reached 101, up from 61 a week earlier. The reproduction number R is at 1.47. For Prague, the incidence number is 116. In the Moravia-Silesia region, where the pandemic is worst, the incidence number is 172.

Source: onemocneni-aktualne.mzcr.cz/covid-19 and covdata.cz