PRAGUE • Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis has tapped a top epidemiologist as health minister after the previous minister quit amid a spike in Covid-19 infections that has led to the country's total cases doubling within just three weeks.
In a televised address on Monday evening, Mr Babis repeated that the government did not want mass lockdowns like those in March that shut businesses, restaurants and schools. He urged people to stick to existing measures and wear face masks.
Mr Babis picked Professor Roman Prymula, who helped to lead the central European country's response to the initial coronavirus outbreak, to replace Mr Adam Vojtech, who quit on Monday after growing criticism.
"Professor Prymula will have crisis management as his main task," Mr Babis said.
Prof Prymula is widely seen as a straight talker who once warned Czechs that travel could be disrupted for two years because of the coronavirus. He has said that daily cases could swell to 6,000 to 8,000, from around 1,000 to 3,000 now.
The Czech Republic recorded 1,476 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, data from the Health Ministry showed, bringing the overall number of confirmed cases to 50,764 - up from 24,618 at the end of last month.
The Czech Republic's spike in cases has been the second fastest in Europe on a rolling two-week basis after Spain when adjusted for population. The jump comes after the country - which was very quick to take strong measures to avoid mass spreading in the spring - loosened restrictions more than many others in the summer. It also comes just before regional elections less than two weeks away.
The country's death toll was 522 as of yesterday.
Yesterday, Prof Prymula told reporters that in the coming days, the closing time for bars would likely be moved to 10pm from midnight. "Mass events will undoubtedly have to be limited," he said.
Mr Babis, speaking alongside Prof Prymula, admitted that public health services were overwhelmed and unable to trace the contacts of all infected people within 48 hours in Prague and the central Czech Republic.
REUTERS
