New vaccines being brought into play, a decrease in new COVID-19 cases, and a lack of capacity in crematoriums. After Pfizer, the Czech Republic is rolling out the Moderna vaccine, already in use in South Moravia. At the same time, despite the decrease in new confirmed cases, hospitals and crematoriums are warning of a lack of capacity. Photo credit: Freepik / Illustrative photo.
Czech Rep., Jan 12 (BD) – New confirmed cases of COVID-19 are showing a slight decrease from the beginning of this week, with 9,294 new cases reported on Monday, around a quarter fewer than the previous week; the pandemic in the Czech Republic is taking a new direction following several days of over 10,000 new cases.
The highest daily increase in COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic was recorded last Wednesday, January 6th, with more than 17,700 detected. On January 10th, the increase in the number of confirmed cases and the ratio of positive tests was significantly lower compared to the same day one week previous. Yet, the PES risk index remains at the fifth level, at 84 points out of 100. According to the Ministry of Health, there are currently 7,732 patients hospitalized in the Czech Republic, around 1,100 of them in a serious condition.
The Czech Ministry of Health also reports that 19,918 vaccinations have been administered so far across the country, though this figure has not been updated by the Ministry since January 6th. The Moderna vaccine is already in use in Brno, as reported by ČTK. While the current vaccination program in the Czech Republic is based on the vaccine from Pfizer, the European Medicines Agency is expected to approve another vaccine from Astra Zeneca soon. In February, up to 433,000 doses from Pfizer / BioNTech are expected to be delivered, along with 80,000 doses from Moderna.
The bad news is from Czech crematoriums; the Ministry of Regional Development reports that some crematoriums around the country are running out of capacity. The Ministry has approved a proposal to be implemented from today to January 22nd, for emergency measures to be adapted for the situation. From today, the transfer of bodies from neighboring states is suspended.
“The reason for this measure is the expected increase in the number of deaths over the next two months, and the related capacity limits of some cremation facilities. At the same time, capacity will be monitored and coordinated across the entire country to avoid problems, as in the case of the Moravian-Silesian Region,” said Klára Dostálová, Minister for Regional Development.
