PRAGUE (Reuters) – The Czech Republic on Wednesday recorded 588 new cases of coronavirus, the highest daily tally since May 25, as government officials predict a continued rise in infections.
The country, which was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic in earlier waves, has seen low infection rates since the summer months. In the past two weeks, it has reported 25 cases per 100,000 people, compared with 137 in Germany, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Tuesday the government was not planning a return to broad lockdown measures – which had been eased going into the summer months – and ministers say local measures could be used in some instances.
The rise in cases reported for Tuesday was still well below peaks in daily infections seen during the waves between October 2020 and March 2021 when they reached into the thousands, hitting a peak of above 17,000 at one point.
The country’s death rate per capita since the pandemic started is the fifth highest in the world, according to Our World in Data, and overall more than 30,000 deaths have been reported in the country of 10.7 million.
By the end of August, 63.5% of the adult population had been fully vaccinated.
(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Stephen Coates)
