Czech Republic now reports 1394 coronavirus cases, with two fatalities

Prague, March 24 (CTK) – The number of the confirmed novel coronavirus cases has reached 1,394 in the Czech Republic, rising by 107 today, according to the latest data on the Health Ministry’s website.

Eight have recovered from COVID-19 so far and two infected patients have died.

The eighth patient was cured and released from the isolation ward of the hospital in Prostejov, south Moravia, today.

The other patient died today as well. It was a man born in 1975 and hospitalised in Havirov, north Moravia, who suffered from cancer in an advanced stage, Health Minister Adam Vojtech (for ANO) tweeted.

Czechia reported its first COVID-19 fatality on Sunday.

Prague’s General Teaching Hospital (VFN) started to administer the U.S.-made Remdesivir experimental medicine to a patient with a severe COVID-19 whose lungs have been seriously damaged, according to doctors. Several dozens of Remdesivir doses may reach the Czech Republic from the USA.

According to the data of the Czech Institute of Health Information and Statistics (UZIS), some 3,000 people are likely to have contracted coronavirus by the end of March and 15,000 at the end of April, including the cured ones, in Czechia.

Hospitals should be able to take care of the patients with severe symptoms, UZIS director Ladislav Dusek said. According to him, the daily increases in the number of those infected have dropped and are likely to stagnate.

The most important thing is that the measures adopted so far have been effective in protecting old people, the most vulnerable group, who make up 17 percent of all COVID-19 cases in Czechia, compared with 50 percent in Spain, for example, Dusek said.

Almost 20,000 samples were tested for coronavirus in the country by Monday. The figure for Tuesday has not yet been released. The daily number of tests reached about 2,000 of late.

Central Crisis Staff chairman Roman Prymula said today that the country has a stockpile of nasopharyngeal swab kits for two to three days ahead and further 30,000 of them will be airlifted in on Wednesday.

The shortage or reagencies, or chemical substances laboratories need to assess samples, is to be compensated by the Academy of Sciences and the new testing procedure it is preparing to launch as of Friday, Prymula said.