Czech Republic coronavirus updates, October 1: 2,932 new cases, state of emergency takes effect Monday

The Czech Republic reported 2,932 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, according to data published by the Czech Health Ministry this morning. Due to a technical defect, the full total for Wednesday was not updated at midnight as usual, leading to underreported totals in many local outlets.

Wednesday's number of new COVID-19 cases was in fact the third-highest total in the Czech Republic since the start of the outbreak in March.

Due to the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases in the Czech Republic, the Czech government officially announced yesterday that a state of emergency would go into effect from Monday, October 5, and last for 30 days. At any time, the state of emergency can be annulled by the Czech Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Czech parliament.

The state of emergency does not refer to any specific measures that will be taken, but rather the government's ability to implement new measures quickly while sidestepping the usual legislative process.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Czech Health Minister Roman Prymula stated that the new measures taken under the state of emergency would not be as severe as were taken during the spring, when Czech borders were generally closed to travel and many businesses in the country were forced to close.

Instead, Prymula and Czech Education Minister Robert Plaga announced a series of new measures that would take effect from Monday, October 5 and last for two weeks, until October 18. He appealed to members of the Czech public to follow the new measures so they would not need to be extended past this date.

At secondary (high) schools in red and orange districts in the Czech traffic light map, distance learning will be enacted from Monday for two weeks. Music classes will be replaced by physical education at upper grades of primary schools, and can only take place without singing at lower grades of primary schools.

The new measures largely refer to gatherings of people during events, with a limit of 10 people for indoor events and 20 for outdoor events. Swimming pools, gyms, court and official proceedings are exempt from this limit; theaters and cinemas can also function (with up to 500 spectators), through singing performances such as opera and musicals are entirely prohibited.

At pubs and restaurants, a maximum of six people may sit at a single table.

From Tuesday to Wednesday, the Czech Republic reported its biggest jump in patients hospitalized with COVID-19, at around 150. There are now 976 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the Czech Republic, about five times more than there were at the start of September. The percentage of people diagnosed with COVID-19 who end up hospitalized is currently just under 3%.

The death toll last month also reached new highs; the Czech Republic reported 229 COVID-19-related deaths during September, topping April's high of 206. The total number of COIVD-19-related deaths now stands at 655. That number includes anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 who later passes away, regardless of the primary cause of death.

In total, there have now been 70,834 COVID-19 cases reported in the Czech Republic since the beginning of the outbreak in March. The majority of those cases, nearly two-thirds, were reported last month.

A total of 33,557 COVID-19 patients have recovered since March, while there are 36,619 known current cases.

The number of new cases reported in Prague has been on the decline, with about 182 new COVID-19 cases reported per 100,000 residents over the past seven days. Last week, that number was in the 200s.

Uherské Hradiště is currently the most-affected district in the Czech Republic per capita, with about 257 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over the past week. Pelhřimov (207 new cases per 100,000 residents), Benešov (208 new cases), and Náchod (216 new cases) have also reported more than 200 cases per 100,000 residents over the past week.