The Czech Republic is the worst affected country in the EU in terms of 14-day notification rate of newly reported COVID-19 cases per 100 000 inhabitants and the second worst in the death notification.

The spread of a more contagious mutation (the so-called British mutation) of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the Czech territory prevails. The so-called South African mutation was also newly recorded.

As of 27 February, new state of emergency applies in the Czech Republic. It will last until 28 March and further extension is expected.

Further restrictive measures have been taken - ban on movement among districts, the obligation to wear a respirator or mask with a nano filter, and mandatory comprehensive testing of employees and public office staff has been launched (see below).

The epidemic is unevenly distributed in the Czech Republic, the pandemic gradually spreads throughout the country from west to east.

Hospitals are still under immense pressure. The capacity of hospitals has reached almost its maximum (new maximum of 9 000 patients last week) and there is a high pressure on the capacity of medical staff

• - The number of patients in serious condition is the highest one since the beginning of the epidemic. During this week, it reaches the absolute maximum - almost 2 000 patients in serious condition.
• - Interregional transports of patients from regions where capacities are at a maximum are carried out.
• - Currently, only 12% of beds are available in intensive care units and 24% in standard beds with oxygen.
• - The government has allowed hospitals to deal with staff shortages by calling outpatient specialists and medical students.
• - A significant increase of the antigen tests performed (more than 100 000 tests per day) has been observed since the start of mandatory testing of selected employees.
• - Significant progress has been made in the number of vaccinations reported per day (the new daily maximum is 50 000).
• - According to the Czech anti-epidemic system, the summarised risk index for the Czech Republic after the rise in recent weeks fell at 71.
• - This value corresponds to alert level four of the Anti-Epidemic System. However, most indicators signal the need to remain in the fifth – highest - level of the Anti-Epidemic system.