Coronavirus update, Sept. 3, 2021: A post-Covid care center is opening in Prague today

Plus: Few positive tests for Prague schoolchildren, Czech Republic now third-least affected by Covid in EU, numbers starting to rise after stagnating.

Expats.cz Staff

Written by Expats.cz Staff Published on 03.09.2021 09:49:00 (updated on 03.09.2021) Reading time: 5 minutes

Center for post-Covid care opening in Prague

A post-Covid care center will open at the City Aftercare Hospital (Městská nemocnice následné péče) in Prague on Friday. The center will take care of patients who have persistent problems after experiencing Covid-19. There will be specialized outpatient clinics in the department, which will ensure professional examination of patients and, if necessary, send them to other specialists. The number of those who have various symptoms of post-Covid syndrome has been increasing recently, not only in the elderly or at-risk patients but also in young and otherwise healthy people. "Our patients, as well as their close relatives and acquaintances, go through a very difficult and psychologically demanding period, which often affects their private lives. We are ready to help all of them not only with treatment and recovery in our hospital but also with another solution to their life situation," Iva Vyšatová, director of the City Hospital, said.

"Our goal and vision is for patients to be able to return to their natural environment – home, and patients need to be well prepared for this, for example by planning a homecare, care service or providing compensatory aids, " says Iva Vyšatová, director of the City Hospital, said.

Few positive tests for Prague schoolchildren

Tests for Covid-19, which 67,896 pupils underwent in Prague schools on Wednesday, revealed 38 infected schoolchildren. 824 school employees were also tested, public broadcaster ČT24 announced on Twitter. Testing using antingen or PCR tests began with the opening of schools for the fall semester and will end Sept. !, unless high numbers are found in particular districts.

Prague’s vaccination capacity to drop

After vaccination against Covid-19 in large centers ends, there will be a capacity of about 16,500 doses per week in Prague. So far, it has been over 64,500 a day. Since the end of last year, 2.01 million doses have been administered in Prague out of about 11.5 million administered throughout the Czech Republic. People from other regions also went to the city to be vaccinated. According to Mayor Zdeněk Hřib, almost 70 percent of Praguers are vaccinated.

After-school groups of up to 20 won’t need Covid tests

Children will not have to test for Covid-19 for after-school activities if they are not in the circle for more than 20 children older than six years. Therefore, most clubs will have up to 20 participants this year. If the group were larger, the children would have to submit a Covid-19 test result. If they do not take the school test, they should bring a self-test or confirmation from a public test site. It will be mandatory for all to wear face coverings in the corridors, Libor Bezděk, the chairman of the Association of Workers of Children and Youth Homes, told ČTK. Interest in after-school activity groups is expected to be similar to the past. According to Bezděk, the obligation to test for Covid-19 according to the current rules should not be a problem for the activity circles.  

 Czech Republic planning nationwide study on coronavirus antibodies

The Czech Health Ministry is planning a nationwide study on coronavirus antibodies and cell immunity this autumn, in which thousands of volunteers are to get involved, the Czech Radio reported. Several big centers should participate in the study, such as the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine (IKEM), the Thomayer Hospital in Prague and the Teaching Hospital in Olomouc. Deputy Health Minister Martina Koziar Vašáková said that the aim of the study would be to find out the exposure of the population to the infection or collective immunity.

"This study would give us a picture of the virus prevalence level in the Czech population or give us epidemiological indicators. At the same time, it is necessary to explore some parametres of the cell immunity," Vašáková said.

Through regular testing, the state also intends to look into how the antibodies protect from the COVID infection.

Local police to get bonus for fighting Covid

Police officers who helped fight the coronavirus epidemic will be able to receive a one-time reward of at least CZK 10,000. The Interior Ministry of the will draw up a subsidy program in which towns with local police will be able to apply. The ministry will provide CZK 5,000 for each police officer, if the municipality gives at least the same amount from its budget, Interior Minister Jan Hamáček told reporters on Thursday. The Ministry will set aside up to 42.5 million crowns for the program from its budget. Although the police officers are employees of municipalities, I think they should also receive rewards from the state, as they were received by employees of the Czech Police, customs administration and others. I will discuss this with the Minister of Finance on how we can resolve this injustice." Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said on Twitter.  

Czech Republic now third-least affected by Covid in EU

According to the number of coronavirus infections in the last 14 days, the worst situation from EU countries is now in Ireland with 504 cases per 100,000 population, a week ago Ireland was second with 497 cases, data from the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) shows. The second most affected country is Cyprus, which has been the most affected country since the beginning of July. In Cyprus, 496 cases of coronavirus have been reported in the last 14 days, compared to 603 a week ago. The third most affected country is Greece with 412 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, a week ago it was the fourth with 420 cases. In the Czech Republic, the number of cases is stagnating, with fewer than 25 cases it is now the third least affected EU country. A week ago the Czech Republic was in 24th place, or fourth-least affected, with approximately 24 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 14 days.  

Most new Covid cases since Mid-July, R number rising

Tests on Thursday revealed 306 newly infected with coronavirus, some 95 cases more than last Thursday and the highest figure since mid-July. The reproduction number to date rose to 1.12 from Thursday's 1.05. it is the highest since Aug. 12, and above the break-even point of 1.0 for the ninth day. The incidence number of cases per 100,000 people over seven days rose to 14. There were 56 people hospitalized, down from 58 a day earlier. The number of people in serious condition remained the same at 10. One death was recorded, and the September toll is now one. In terms of incidence numbers, Karlovy Vary is now worst in the country at 27, and the R number is 2.5. Prague is second at 25, down from 26 a day earlier. Prague’s R number is 0.87.

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Latest Covid-19 data from the Czech Ministry of Health (Sept. 3, 2021)

  • New cases 306
  • Deaths 30 405
  • Currently hospitalized 56
  • PCR tests performed 10,137,159
  • Antigen tests performed 26,082,130
  • Total vaccinations 11,514,332
  • Daily increase in vaccinations 17,721
  • People who have completed vaccination 5,759,031
  • New cases per 100,000 in seven days 14
  • PES index 40
  • R number 1.12

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