Czech Republic coronavirus updates, Nov. 30: lockdown measures to loosen Thursday, new Slovakia travel rule

Certain lockdown measures will be loosened this week as the Czech Republic moves from the fourth to the third level in the PES pandemic system on Thursday, the Czech government announced this weekend.

It comes as the Czech Republic reports fewer and fewer COVID-19 cases. The country reported 1,074 new cases on Sunday. On Saturday, the country reported a similarly low number of new daily cases as well: 2,667 new cases.

However, the Czech Republic continues to conduct fewer and fewer tests. On Saturday, the country conducted 11,685 tests, significantly less of the usual number of tests performed during the weeks when the country experienced the peak of the second wave.

The number of tests performed on Sunday will be revealed tomorrow.

The country has performed more than 3 million tests since March.

As a result of the declining cases, certain lockdown measures will be loosened starting Thursday, Dec. 3.

Curfew will be lifted and restaurants, shops, and service providers may reopen, but a number of restrictions will remain in effect. These regulations are expected to remain in effect through Christmas. Note that while establishments are allowed to reopen, whether they do so under the restrictions still in place is at the discretion of the operator.

Read the full list of changes here.

Since March, the Czech Republic has now reported a total of 519,723 COVID-19 cases, the majority of which were reported in September and October. Of those, there have been 444,406 recoveries, with 67,179 known active cases.

There are currently 4,565 COVID-19 patients in Czech hospitals, with 689 of those in serious condition. Both those numbers have been steadily decreasing as well for the past few weeks.

The most-affected locality in the Czech Republic over the past two weeks continues to be Havlíčkův Brod, which has reported about 610 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past week.

The Czech Republic is no longer the most affected state in the EU; the country now ranks far below countries like Austria, Poland and Croatia, with about 567 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

In travel news, all people traveling to Slovakia will have to show a negative COVID-19 test at the border from December 7, Health Minister Marek Krajčí said.

"Many people keep coming across the border who have exemptions. Even these people with such exemptions will have to show the result of at least an antigen test not older than two weeks," Krajčí said.