The number of respiratory infection cases, including influenza, is continually increasing. During the past week, these infections have increased by a tenth, reaching 1423 cases per 100,000 people. According to public health officials, these figures are gradually approaching epidemic thresholds.
The data about the number of sick individuals were released by the Regional Public Health Station of the Liberec Region on Monday. This agency is the first to present nationwide data. It appears from these numbers that the highest morbidity in the Czech Republic persists and continues to rise among the youngest preschool-aged children. However, the epidemic threshold has already been exceeded among age groups from 24.
The situation significantly differs in individual regions. While public health officials in Liberec recorded an increase in morbidity by six percentage points in the past week, in Central Bohemia, the increase was almost 19. In contrast, a decrease was recorded in the Plzeň Region.
Interestingly, the number of new COVID-19 cases has decreased recently. Last week, the Ministry of Health recorded 1604 confirmed cases, which is only a fraction of what was added in a single day last December.
Jan Pačes from the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences had earlier predicted that higher numbers of COVID-19 infections could be expected in February or March because the autumn or winter peak of the epidemic occurred between Christmas and New Year.
According to public health officials, it is still possible to get vaccinated effectively, either against the flu or against COVID-19.