In the first few days of November, the Czech Republic saw a significant slowing in the growth rate of COVID-19 cases.
On Monday, November 2nd, there were 9,241 COVID-19 cases recorded, more than a thousand less than the week before. However, Czech health minister Jan Blatny said in a statement on Monday that the country has to wait for more data to come in before any celebrations are in order.
“I’m still cautious with our evaluation because we can’t assume that the weekend’s numbers are final. Monday and Tuesday could end up surprising us, so I would not take these numbers too seriously.”
Blatny also said that he was working on preparing a new, more coherent system for the loosening and tightening of restrictions. “I believe I’ll be able to introduce it soon,” he added, hinting that it could be out as soon as the end of the week.
Since the beginning of the outbreak in March, more than 350,000 Czechs have been infected by the novel virus, with nearly 180,000 actively infected. In the past week, the virus has spread quickest in the Benešov district, with 1,085 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
The current state of emergency is scheduled to end by November 20, and though new restrictions aren’t planned for afterward, various government officials have touted the need for them should the cases stop declining.
