The Czech Republic recorded 14,054 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, its largest daily tally since November 4 as a spike in infections approaches previous peaks, the Health Ministry reported on Thursday.
Other epidemic indicators are also deteriorating. The percentage of positive tests rose from about 30 to 38 percent in 24 hours.
The Czech government announced on Wednesday it would shift to the highest level of its risk index from Sunday, triggering tighter restrictions that include closing non-essential shops, ski lifts and imposing stricter curfew and gathering rules.
Daily infections are again nearing peaks of above 15,000 a day seen in October and November and the seven-day test positivity rate has risen this week to almost 29%.
The government is seeking to keep the strain off hospitals with the number of COVID-19 patients currently needing care at 4,836, after peaking at over 8,000 last month.
Deaths related to COVID-19 have jumped amid the second wave of the pandemic, increasing more than 15-fold since the start of October to a total of 10,776 as of Wednesday.
The Czech Republic is currently at the fifth, most serious level in all regions except Prague. The worst situation is actually recorded in the Hradec Králové region.
There are 97,241 active cases currently.
