Czech Republic coronavirus updates, Nov. 3: 9,241 new cases, COVID-19 spread slows down in Prague

There were 9,241 reported COVID-19 cases in the Czech Republic yesterday, according to the latest data from the Czech Health Ministry released this morning. For the first time since Monday, October 19, the number of new cases reported on a weekday fell below 10,000.

In Prague, there were 712 new COVID-19 cases reported yesterday, the lowest number on a weekday in the past three weeks and 552 fewer cases than the previous Monday.

The Czech Republic remains the second-most-affected state in the EU over the past two weeks, with about 1,575 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents trailing only Belgium (1,735 cases), according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Luxembourg and Slovenia have also reported more than 1,000 cases over the past 14 days.

In terms of the number of COVID-19-related deaths per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks, the Czech Republic has reported the most in Europe at just under 19.

Over the past seven days, 1,153 COVID-19-related deaths have been reported in the Czech Republic. There have been 108 deaths attributed to Monday so far, a number that will rise as additional data comes in.

Since the beginning of the epidemic in March, a total of 3,654 COVID-19 patients have died.

Over that span, a total of 350,896 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the country, with the majority of those cases coming in October.

Currently, there are 176,634 known active cases in the country. Of those, 7,486 are being treated in hospitals, with 1,163 considered to be in serious condition. More than 1,000 patients have required intensive care for the past five days.

Over the past two weeks, more than 30% of those tested in the Czech Republic have been positive for COVID-19, though that number has been slightly decreasing over the past week. On Sunday, there were 20,411 tests performed and 6,551 positive cases; the number of tests performed Monday will be released later today.

Over the past seven days, the rate of COVID-19 infection has been highest in Benešov, where about 1,085 cases new cases have been reported per 100,000 inhabitants. Náchod has also exceeded 1,000 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past week.

In Prague, there have been 425 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days, which rates among the lowest figures in the country. Cheb has reported the lowest ratio of cases over the past week, at 325 per 100,000 residents.

The current state of emergency in the Czech Republic, previously set to expire today, has instead been extended through November 20. Current restrictions in place throughout the country are expected to last through that date. See our updated list of restrictions in effect here.

Yesterday, however, the Czech COVID-19 reproduction number (R number), which indicates the number of people one infected person will spread the virus to, fell to 1 for the first time since August, according to Data Against COVID.

One measure has already been eased: from tomorrow, November 4, professional athletes and teams will be allowed to resume training and games under strict conditions, the Czech government announced yesterday. The move should pave the way for local hockey leagues to resume play.

Former Czech Health Minister Roman Prymula previously stated that the restrictions may begin to be lifted once the R number reaches 0.8.