Coronavirus update, Aug. 10, 2021: Delta variant accounts for 97 percent of new Covid cases

The suspected Delta variant is accounting for 97 percent of all positive coronavirus samples in the Czech Republic, the National Institute of Public Health (SZÚ) said in a press release. In the past week, 1,787 persons were examined with the PCR discrimination method. The occurrence of the new variant can only with certainty be confirmed by genome sequencing. This year, 6,155 samples have been sequenced, 349 of which last week alone. The new, more contagious variants of coronavirus are gradually replacing the less infectious ones. Since June, the Delta variant, aka Indian, started spreading in the Czech Republic in June. Experts have detected its further subtypes. In about 20 cases in the Czech Republic, the definitive confirmation of the Delta plus is still being expected. Roughly 10 percent of the positive samples are sent for the genome sequencing.

Only 4,570 out of the 5.08 million people or 0.09 percent were infected with Covid-19 after they were vaccinated against the virus, according to from data the Institute of Health Information and Statistics (ÚZIS). Infections after vaccination are slightly increasing in time, ÚZIS director Ladislav Dušek said. This is due to the rising number of the inoculated, which increases the likelihood that the inoculated person encounters the virus. Among the newly infected, there have been on average 75 percent of the unvaccinated since July, Dušek said. In July, 14 people died with COVID, 10 of whom were not inoculated. In recent days, most of the new infections were revealed in the people who had not been vaccinated against the illness. Last Saturday, these were 124 cases out of the total 152 and on Sunday 92 cases of the total number of 103 of newly uncovered cases.

Vaccination against coronavirus began in the Czech Republic last Dec. 27, as in most other countries of the European Union. Since then, over 5 million people in the Czech Republic have been fully vaccinated, adding up to 46.8 percent of the population. The EU average is 50.4 percent. The total number of vaccines administered in the Czech Republic is over 10.5 million. In this respect, the Czech Republic is in 16th place in the EU. It has improved by two places compared to July. Also, 52 percent of Czechs have had at least one dose. The best in the EU is Malta, where almost 88 percent of the population was fully vaccinated and 91.9 percent had at least one dose. In second place in the EU is Belgium with 60.5 percent of those fully vaccinated and 69.8 percent with at least one dose, followed by Spain, where over 59 percent fully vaccinated and 69.8 percent with at least one dose. Apart from the smaller countries with a maximum of several hundred thousand inhabitants, the United Arab Emirates is the best at vaccinating worldwide, with 71.2 percent of the population being fully vaccinated. 15 percent of the world's people are fully vaccinated.

The Covid-19 vaccination center in Brno's exhibition area will end operation as of Aug. 31, Brno Mayor Markéta Vaňková said, adding that the area will start hosting trade fairs again, which is rather incompatible with the operation of a vaccination center. The center in the exhibition area will be closed this weekend as well. The center started operating in the exhibition area in January, and over 300,000 doses of vaccine have been applied to people there since. As of September, the jabs will be offered at the Brno Teaching Hospital.

The campaign aimed at motivating people to be vaccinated has already cost the Czech Republic more than CZK 50 million. However, experts say the campaign is insufficient and does not target people who are still procrastinating about vaccination, news server Aktualne.cz reported. In some groups, interest in vaccinations is declining. It is low, for example, among younger adults or among members of poorer households. According to Czech Medical Chamber head Milan Kubek, this is due to the fact that the campaign is not sufficiently targeted at individual groups.

Anti-coronavirus measures in schools are likely to affect the design of timetables. According to the director of the primary school in Velvary in the Kladno district, Petr Došek, the changes will mainly affect optional subjects, the reason being the condition that children from different classes should not mix. Personally, he would welcome an anti-pandemic system more responsive to the local situation, because, for example, according to available information, there is now one case of Covid in the catchment area of the Velvary school, Došek said.

The reproduction number R stayed at 1.06, and is above the break even point of 1.0 for the third day in a row, meaning the pandemic is once again expanding. The incidence number of new cases per 100,000 over the past seven days remained at 11. The PES index dropped to 33 from 35 on the previous day. The number of new Covid cases reported for Monday was 168, up from 152 a week earlier. The number of hospitalized people rose to 49, with 12 in serious condition. One Covid-related death was reported, bringing the August total up to six. The R number for Prague was again at 1.12, and the incidence number remained at 23. The R number was highest in the Zlín region, at 2.12,and lowest in the Plzeň region, at 0.57.