Czech Republic coronavirus updates, October 11: new weekend records, tighter measures coming Wednesday

The Czech Republic reported 4,635 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday and 3,104 cases on Sunday according to the latest data published by the Czech Health Ministry this morning.

Both numbers are daily highs for a Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The numbers come after an all-time high of 8,615 COVID-19 cases on Friday.

With about 433 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over the past 14 days, the Czech Republic is currently the most-affected state in the European Union, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Over the past two weeks, Belgium (364 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents) and the Netherlands (345 new cases) have overtaken Spain and France as the second- and third-most-affected EU states after the Czech Republic.

New regulations have come into effect today to curb the surge in new COVID-19 cases in the Czech Republic, but they won't be the last this week: according to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, new measures will be established at a government meeting today and take affect from Wednesday, October 14.

The Czech Republic has now reported a total of 117,110 COVID-19 cases since the start of the epidemic in March. The vast majority of those cases have come in the past six weeks, and there are currently 59,920 known active cases.

On Sunday, the number of COVID-19-related deaths rose by 22, bringing the death toll since the start of the epidemic to 987. The statistics include anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 who later passes away as a COVID-19-related death.

Across the Czech Republic, there are currently 2,106 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, with 438 of them considered to be in serious condition. Those number have roughly doubled over the past two weeks. 

In Prague, there were 415 new COVID-19 cases reported on Sunday, which was the lowest tally since September 29. The death toll rose by six in the Czech capital yesterday, to a total of 208 since March.

Over the past seven days, there have been about 369 confirmed COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in Prague. The highest rates of infection in the country over the past week are in Uherské Hradiště (560 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), Liberec (425 cases), Náchod (411 cases) and Příbram (407 cases).

A state of emergency came into effect in the Czech Republic on October 5, allowing the government to introduce new anti-COVID-19 measures while bypassing the usual legislative process.

From today, new measures have taken effect that regulate the operation of schools, sports institutions, and cultural and leisure activities. Cinemas, theaters, museums, galleries, and other venues have all closed from today.

From last Friday, gyms have been closed, and restaurants and pubs must close by 8 p.m.

Given the rapid rise in new cases, the Czech government is meeting again this morning to discuss further measures, which should be announced later today. In his weekly address on social media, Prime Minster Andrej Babiš stated that the new measures would come into effect from Wednesday.