The Czech government will almost certainly have to tighten its anti-coronavirus measures again as current curbs have not halted a surge in infections, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Sunday.
Cases are up across Europe, but the Czech Republic has recorded the sharpest rises in infections on the continent in recent weeks.
The Czech government on Wednesday decided to close most shops and services in the country. As part of the new measures, which will remain in force until November 3, assemblies of more than two people who are not in the same household or work together will be banned.
“The measures which we have taken, aren’t working yet,” Babis said in a video message on YouTube.
Read: Czech Republic to Get 30 Ventilators From EU
“The next week will be the key one, and unless a miracle happens, we won’t have any other choice than to tighten our measures further,” he said.
Babis said that he wanted Christmas to be celebrated as normal, but he could not promise anything for now.
Read: Slovakia to Test Everyone Above Age of 10
On Sunday, the Czech Health Ministry reported 12,472 new COVID-19 cases.
