According to the minister, it will be easier if the state disperses respirators. “It will be cheaper, the administration will be eliminated and social services will not have to ensure the purchase,” Maláčová explained.
Protect the most vulnerable above all! So far, soc. protective equipment services have applied for subsidies, now employees will receive respirators straight away. Today, the government released 3 million FFP2 respirators from the State’s material reserves. You will go to 2,609 soc. services with almost 90 thousand employees.
– Jana Maláčová (@JMalacova) November 3, 2020
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Clients and staff will receive regular coronavirus antigen tests in homes for the elderly or disabled and other facilities. The testing regulation will come into force on Wednesday. The first examination should take place within seven days, ie by 11 November. After that, it should be repeated every five days. The test can only be performed by paramedics.
Currently, 176,634 people are infected in the Czech Republic, most of whom have a mild course of the disease. According to the latest data from Sunday, 7486 patients with covid-19 are being treated in hospitals, 1163 of whom are in severe condition. The number of hospitalized patients began to increase significantly in October, and more than a thousand patients need intensive care on the fifth day. Since the outbreak of the epidemic in the Czech Republic, more than 350,000 people have become infected with covid-19, and over 170,000 patients have recovered.
The slowdown in the increments of new cases in recent days, however Minister of Health Jan Blatný (for YES) does not attach much importance. According to him, it is necessary to wait for Tuesday’s dates, the first issues should be available after 6 pm. Last Tuesday, the increase was the highest since the beginning of the epidemic, exceeding 15,600.
The decline in the number of new cases of the disease can also be observed in Prague. On Monday, tests confirmed 712 new cases, which is 552 less than last Monday. On weekdays, it’s even at least the last three weeks. On Monday, another ten deaths of people with covid-19 increased in the capital, bringing the number of victims to 436.
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The director of the Prague hygiene station, Zdeňka Jágrová, told ČT on Monday that the numbers look optimistic, but have not been won. It is necessary to wait if the downward trend will continue. According to her, the share of positive seizures rose again to almost thirty percent.
The proportion of positive among those tested was around 30 percent
The ministry will also publish on Tuesday evening the number of tests the laboratories performed on Monday. These numbers should show the proportion of positives among those tested. Last week, it remained above 30 percent daily, suggesting that the population is more infected than can be detected. On weekdays last week, from 35 to almost 48,000 people were tested daily, on Sunday it was around twenty thousand.
In comparison of districts, coronavirus has spread the fastest in the Benešov region in the last week, where there are 1,085 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. This is followed by Náchodsko with 1029 and Rakovnicko with 979 infected people with the same population in the last week. On the other hand, the lowest numbers are in Cheb, Břeclav, Brno-město and Prague.
Further help from abroad
The Czechia has begun negotiations with the WHO for help in the form of additional health professionals. The organization is ready to provide medical teams that could join Czech hospitals. This was confirmed to Radiožurnál by the Ministry of Health and the Czech representation of the WHO.
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So far, the resort has asked for two doctors and 15 nurses. According to the statement of the President of the Czech Medical Chamber Milan Kubek in Radiožurnál, 16,000 health workers are now infected in the Czech Republic, of which 2,700 are doctors. “Most sadly, the fifth doctor died. Two colleagues died last week, “said Kubek.
The capacity of Czech hospitals is most threatened by the lack of staff. However, according to Ladislav Dušek, director of the Institute of Health Information and Statistics (ÚZIS), there is a risk that the capacity of hospitals will be almost exhausted in the second half of November even after the maximum number is changed to beds for patients with covid.
Fans from Germany
One hundred lung ventilators, donated by Germany to the Czech Republic, arrived at the warehouse of the State Material Reserves Administration (SSHR) in Sedlčany in the Příbram region on Tuesday. The fans were brought by firefighters in cooperation with a logistics company.
“I thank our neighbors for their help and solidarity at this difficult time, when our doctors and nurses are selflessly helping coronavirus-infected patients. Donated fans will save lives. Many thanks also to the embassies in Berlin and Prague for the speed with which they were able to deliver the gift, “said Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček (ČSSD).
These are smaller ResMed Lumis 150 ventilators that are used as an adjunct in the treatment of patients with respiratory problems. The administration of state material reserves will start distributing them to individual hospitals.
Restrictions on everyday life in the Czech Republic
Due to concerns about the lack of beds and hospital staff, there is a state of emergency in the country and extraordinary restrictions on free movement and a number of activities. In addition to kindergartens, restaurants, shops and establishments are closed, with the exception of the basic assortment and services. With few exceptions, no cultural, sporting and social events take place.
The state of emergency has so far been approved by November 20, but according to government members, it will need to be extended so that restrictions can continue. Minister of the Interior Jan Hamáček, for example, spoke about this (CSSD) in Sunday’s Questions of Vaclav Moravec.
New restrictions due to the spread of coronavirus are not currently planned by the Cabinet, on the other hand, the release of measures is still early. From Wednesday, however, professional sports competitions and training of professional athletes at indoor sports grounds can resume if they meet strict hygienic conditions.
Requirements for the resumption of professional competitions will include mandatory testing before each match. PCR tests will be used, said Milan Hnilička, chairman of the National Sports Agency (NSA), at Tuesday’s press conference. In addition to the two highest competitions in football and hockey, this will apply to all other fully professional competitions.
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On Tuesday, the European Commission approved state aid in the amount of three billion crowns, which the Czech government wants to provide to operators of shops and services under the Covid program – rent. According to the European Union executive, the plan meets the criteria for state aid that the Commission has temporarily relaxed in the fight against the economic effects of restrictions.
The Czechia will thus be able to pay up to half of its rents for July, August and September to companies affected by government restrictions. The maximum amount of the contribution can be 800 thousand euros (about 21 million crowns). The Commission has stated that aid granted to private companies is a “necessary, appropriate and balanced” means of mitigating the harsh effects of the restrictions on the economy.
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