After a meeting with Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, the Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch stated that if the daily growth of newly infected people with coronavirus does not improve by Friday, he is ready to introduce new restrictions at the national level.
“We will evaluate the data, and if the number of infected people continues to increase, we would have to take some preventive measures,” said Vojtěch.
The Czech Health Minister stated that the epidemiological situation is not good right now. According to him, indoor mass events pose an especially great risk.
“I want to give it time until Friday to see how the situation develops,” he explained, adding that he did not want to specify the potential measures.
“Public health offices are taking local measures, but there is also room for some measures at the national level. We are not planning to close certain industries and so on, but prevention is needed,” said Vojtěch.
“I also spoke with epidemiologists. We agreed that if any measures would be implemented, they would certainly not be too strict,” said the minister.
In his speech to the National Security Council on Wednesday, Babiš also commented on the current epidemiological development. He stressed that Czechia had managed the first wave of the epidemic very well, but expressed concerns about the daily increase in coronavirus cases.
“I do not like the current development. We will probably have to act quickly,” Babiš said.
However, when asked about this matter later, he added that the government expected an increase in cases after easing the measures.
Compared to neighboring countries, over the past week, the Czech Republic recorded the highest daily increases in newly confirmed coronavirus cases per million inhabitants. There are currently 5,062 infected people, including 246 new cases registered on Wednesday.
Title image: Residents sit to dine on a 500 meter long table set on the medieval Charles Bridge, after restrictions were eased following the coronavirus pandemic in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, June 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
