News: Saturday, February 6th, 2021

AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine arrives in CR

The first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19 arrived in the Czech Republic on Saturday morning. The drug was approved by the European Commission last week. The Czech News Agency reported that over 19,000 doses had been delivered to a warehouse in Central Bohemia, with distribution due to begin on Monday.

Unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, which are already being administered in the Czech Republic, the AstraZeneca one doesn’t need to be stored at extremely low temperatures.

Registered Covid deaths in CR pass 17,000 mark

The number of registered Covid-19 deaths in the Czech Republic now exceeds 17,000. The figure climbed to 17,129 with the release of fresh Ministry of Health data on Saturday morning. There were 8,559 newly confirmed cases of the virus in the country on Friday, around 500 more than for the same day last week.

Some 5,756 people were hospitalised with Covid going into the weekend, which was lower than the number for Thursday and for Friday last week. However, the government say they will not ease current restrictions until the number in hospital falls to between 3,000 and 4,000.

The national coronavirus risk index climbed two points to 73 out of 100. The reproduction number is now 1.04.

Insurance-covered Covid testing at firms may start this month

Testing for Covid-19, covered by health insurers, could begin at companies in the Czech Republic by the end of February. Agreement has been reached on this between employers and government ministries, the deputy president of the Confederation of Industry and Transport, Jan Rafaj, told the Czech News Agency on Saturday.

Mr. Rafaj said the start date for the testing would depend on when the Ministry of Health sets out the conditions for conducting them. Employees would be able to avail of free antigen tests every three days under the scheme.

Communists confirm decision to cease supporting state of emergency

The leadership of the Communist Party confirmed after a meeting on Friday evening that they would not back the extension of a state of emergency. The Communists support the minority coalition on key votes and the government’s system of Covid measures is contingent on a state of emergency being in place.

The Communists say, however, that the government can issue rules restrictions without the need for such legislation. They say that the government has had since October to make efforts to ensure a state of emergency is not required.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš says if the state of emergency – which expires on February 14 – is not extended the country’s healthcare system could collapse, putting lives at risk.

2020 Czech TV audiences highest in decades

Television viewing figures were at their highest level in decades in the Czech Republic last year. According to the Association of Television Organisations, viewing rates were at a level unseen since people meters, an audience measurement tool, were introduced 24 years previously.

People over 15 spent an average of three hours and 59 minutes a day in front of their TV screens in 2020, a rise of 43 minutes on the previous year.

The spike followed the introduction of measures aimed at containing the coronavirus in March and again later in the year.

Snow and temperatures as low as -15C due next week

Next week should be frosty in the Czech Republic, with temperatures remaining under freezing point during the day and falling to even below -15 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country. According to a regular four-week forecast issued by the Czech Hydro-Meteorological Institute, next week should also see snow, and not just in upland areas.

The following weeks are expected to see daytime temperatures above freezing point, corresponding to the long-term average for the time of year. Precipitation should be above average next week, around average for the following fortnight and below average after that.

Weather forecast

It should be overcast with some snow in the Czech Republic on Sunday, with an average temperature of -3 degrees Celsius. The forecast for next week is for daytime highs ranging from -8 to -10 degrees Celsius.