Czech weekend news in brief: top headlines for July 25, 2021

Some 15 percent of people checked by police and hygienists in bars and dance clubs in Prague Saturday night violated anti-epidemic measures according to information released on the website of the Prague Hygiene Station. Of the 170 people checked, 24 were fined on the spot for a total of CZK 12,000. Inspection of five venues primarily focused on "nightclubs, music and dance clubs in the wider center of the metropolis." The main violations involved failure to prove infectivity when entering bars, restaurants, and clubs where it is necessary to prove 14 days after the last dose of a Covid-19 vaccination, submit a negative test, or prove having had Covid-19 less than 180 days ago. The dancing ban and spacing and table-capacity violations were also reported.

Up to 80 millimeters of rain could fall later Sunday afternoon and Monday night, with forceful gales and flooding conditions forecast for the entire country according to a weather warning issued Sunday by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI). Thunderstorms may also occur on Monday and Tuesday night. The flood warning applies throughout most of the Czech Republic until Tuesday noon. The CHMI warns of torrential rains with up to 60 millimeters for the whole country from 3 pm Sunday to Monday at 3 am. Hail and lightning can also occur during thunderstorms.

Some 80 percent of the Czech team members at the Tokyo Olympics are vaccinated against Covid-19, a similar share to that of the U.S. team said the head of the COV communications service. So far four Czech athletes and two Olympians from the U.S. have tested positive. The Czech team in Tokyo includes 115 athletes and some 260 members in total. The AP news agency has reported that there are 613 U.S. athletes in Tokyo, 567 of whom filled in the medical form before the departure, while 83 percent of them said they had been vaccinated. However, vaccination against Covid is not a condition for participation in the Tokyo Olympics which is why all athletes and team members must be tested daily. Prior to the opening of the games, six members of the Czech Olympic team, including four athletes tested positive.

The Czech Republic lags slightly behind the EU average in terms of vaccination against coronavirus. Vaccination began in the Czech Republic last year on December 27, as in most other countries of the European Union. Since then, over 4.5 million people in the Czech Republic have been fully vaccinated (the last half million have been fully vaccinated in nine days), 42.5 percent of the population, and the total number of vaccines administered is close to ten million. The Czech Republic remains 18th place in the EU , the best being Malta, where almost 83 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated. In second place is Hungary with 55.5 percent vaccinated and then Spain, where over 54 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. The EU average is 45.7 percent.

Sixty-nine new Covid-19 cases were reported in the Czech Republic on Saturday, almost three times fewer than a week ago and the lowest Saturday figure since the end of June, data released by the Health Ministry this morning show. The reproduction number, down from 0.91 on Saturday to 0.84, indicates the infection spread is slowing while the Covid incidence rate, the number of the infected per 100,000 population over the past seven days, dropped from 14 to 12 on Saturday. The incidence rate is still highest in Prague. The number of the hospitalized has risen to 40, compared to 30 last Saturday. Vaccinations against Covid-19 have considerably dropped. Last Saturday, more than 39,000 Covid vaccine doses were applied; this Saturday, it was 32,464.