Czech Republic coronavirus updates, September 25: 2,913 new cases, second-highest total yet

There were 2,913 new COVID-19 cases reported in the Czech Republic yesterday, according to the latest data released by the Czech Health Ministry this morning.

The numbers have been consistently high this week: more than 2,000 cases have been reported over the past three days, some of the highest daily totals since the start of the epidemic in March. From Monday through Thursday, there have been more than 9,000 new COVID-19 cases reported. Before this month, the daily rise in COVID-19 cases in the country had never exceeded 500.

However, the number of new cases has not risen past the record-high of 3,130 reported at the end of last week. The total number of tests conducted has generally been above 20,000 on weekdays over the past two weeks.

There are now 30,425 known active cases in the Czech Republic. While the majority of those cases are mild, the number of hospitalized patients and COVID-19-related deaths has quickly been rising in recent days.

On Wednesday, the Czech Republic set a new high with 19 COVID-19-related deaths. There are currently 670 COVID-19 patients being treated in Czech hospitals, with 131 in serious condition, numbers that have roughly quadrupled since the start of September. About 2.4% of patients who have recently tested positive have ended up in Czech hospitals; in March and April, that ratio was around 10%.

The total number of cases since the start of the outbreak in March has more than doubled this month, to 58,374. There have been 27,382 recoveries and 567 COVID-19-related deaths since March.

Prague continues to be the most-affected locality in the Czech Republic, and has set three consecutive highs for the number of new COVID-19 cases reported this week. There were 489 new COVID-19 cases reported in Prague on Wednesday, following 442 on Tuesday. As of 6 p.m. last evening, Prague had reported 602 new cases over the past 24 hours.

Over the past seven days, there have been 205 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants reported in both Prague and Prague-East. Prague-West has reported 174 new cases per 100,000 residents in that span.

The spread of COVID-19 is not limited to the capital, however. Liberec (north Bohemia), Hodonin and Uherské Hradiště (both south Moravia) there were 173-175 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the past week. About 40% of districts across the country have reported more than 100 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past week.

As of yesterday, new regulations from recently-inaugurated Czech Health Minister new Roman Prymula have come into effect. Those include a mandatory closing time of 10 p.m. for all restaurants and bars in the Czech Republic; a limit of 2,000 spectators at outdoor sporting events (1,000 at indoor events); and a limit of 50 attendees at outdoor events with only standing room for visitors (10 indoors).

Additional countries continue to list either Prague or the entire Czech Republic among their high-risk areas, restricting travel to some degree.

Austria is the latest Czech neighbor to list Prague among its high-risk regions, effective Monday. Germany has listed nearly the entire Czech Republic among its risk areas, apart for two regions (Ústí and Moravia-Silesia).

Greece has also placed the Czech Republic among its list of risk regions, requiring a negative COVID-19 test from all travelers coming from the Czech Republic.