Coronavirus update, Feb.19, 2021: Over 10,000 new cases in the Czech Republic for third day in a row

Today the Czech Republic awaits the government's ruling on the reopening of shops amid record numbers of new cases and a rising reproduction number.

Lawmakers are largely divided on Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček's proposal to reopen stores on Monday.

Minister of Education Robert Plaga stated that returning final year students to schools from the beginning of March is a priority and that the opening of shops should wait. The government meeting is scheduled for Friday morning.

On Thursday, the Czech Chamber of Deputies refused demands from the opposition Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party to cancel the new state of emergency.

The motion for the immediate cancellation of the state of emergency received just 31 votes from the 153 deputies present. The end of the emergency state is now bound to the approval of a new pandemic law with a limiting concrete date.

The pandemic law, which gives the Health Ministry and public health centers more power to issue lockdown rules against COVID-19, is expected to be approved by the Czech Senate next week.

Critics say the government's decision to declare a new state of emergency Sunday violated the constitution. The new state of emergency is valid until February 28.

More than 11,000 new infections were detected in the Czech Republic on Thursday, more than last week. The number of hospitalized has also increased. The reproduction, number, which indicates the further spread of the epidemic rose to 1.15 from Thursday's 1.10.

The average number of newly infected per 100,000 population and the two-week average number of the infected among the elderly increased.

The PES anti-epidemic index, which was created to guide lockdown measures, fell to 75 points on the 0-100 scale in the Czech Republic on Friday, putting the country at the fourth level of risk. Thursday saw a PES score of 80, the highest since January 13. The number dropped due to a fall in the proportion of hospitalized patients whose infection is detected in the hospital.

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