Coronavirus spreads in the Czech Republic because people defy the coronavirus measures, said Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Jan Hamáček, responding to Ourworldindata.org statistics, which show that the number of new COVID-19 cases per million inhabitants per week in Czechia is the highest in the world. “I see the tension in society, which is no longer cohesive,” Hamáček said on the Impuls radio station.
According to Hamáček, a combination of factors is to blame for the bad epidemiological situation in the Czech Republic. Among other things, he implied that another wave of the coronavirus epidemic might have hit the country. Unfortunately, the public is no longer willing to comply with the measures, stated Hamáček. “Cooperation was better in the spring when people followed what the government ordered. It was not the same in the autumn. No one is satisfied with the situation. We are doing everything we can to improve the situation,” said the deputy prime minister, admitting that the reaction to the development of the epidemic could have been more vigorous on the part of government officials. “We do not want the public to get infected on purpose. The only ones who deliberately get infected are those who do not follow the government measures. They do not observe interpersonal contact restrictions, they do not wear face masks, and they organize parties. There are two options, either we will slow down and try to stop the epidemic, and thus face criticism, or we will surrender and give way to the uncontrolled spread of the virus,” Hamáček said. He also added that he has observed the tensions in society. “It is no longer like in the spring when the society was very cohesive. Many people are in financial trouble, lost the opportunity to do business, cannot see their loved ones, I understand. But there is no other option,” said Hamáček.
At the same time, he appealed to all citizens to get vaccinated when they have the opportunity. He will be vaccinated himself when it is his turn. “I would like to go get vaccinated, but I do not want to get ahead of other people,” he explained. Czechia currently reports the worst epidemiological situation in the world in terms of the number of new infections per million inhabitants per week. The country has a daily average of over 965 detected new cases per million people. In second place is San Marino, which reports about 820 cases per capita per week. In terms of the number of coronavirus-related deaths per capita, Czechia is in fifth place worldwide.
Title image: Deputy PM and Interior Minister Jan Hamáček (Jan Hamáček / Facebook)
