Czech Republic coronavirus updates, August 7: 215 new cases, travel restrictions to Norway, Slovenia

There were 215 new COVID-19 cases reported in the Czech Republic on Thursday, according to the latest data posted by the Czech Health Ministry this morning.

Despite the high number of daily infections, however, the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has remained stable, at 119 as of this morning. Seventeen of those patients are considered to be in serious condition.

In almost every district within the Czech Republic, the number of new COVID-19 cases has stabilized over the past seven days, following minor outbreaks in Central and South Bohemia at the end of July.

Only Frýdek-Místek, in the Moravian-Silesian region, has exceeded 21 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over the past week, with a high of 74 infections per 100,000 residents over the past week. Neighboring Karviná has reported 20 cases per 100,000 residents and Ostrava 15 cases per 100,000 residents over that span. Restrictions in the Moravian-Silesian region have been eased as of yesterday, allowing for an unlimited number of people to visit public swimming pools.

In Prague, the number of new COVID-19 cases over the past week is about 20.5 per 100,000 residents; it’s the second-highest number in the country, but has seen a steady decrease over the past two weeks. Over the past three days, Prague has reported about 50 new COVID-19 cases per day.

The Czech Republic has now reported a total of 17,740 COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the outbreak in mid-March. There have been 12,320 reported recoveries and 390 deaths, leaving a total of 5,030 known active cases – the highest number to date.

Along with an increased effort to conduct more COVID-19 tests, the City of Prague has announced that it will open up new testing points throughout the city, including a centralized location on Wenceslas Square.

As of this morning, two additional European countries have added the Czech Republic to their lists of countries with increased risk of COVID-19.