COVID-19 death toll tops 1,000 in Czech Republic
A further 58 people had succumbed to COVID-19 in a 24-hour span in the Czech Republic, taking the country’s death toll from the disease to 1,045 since the beginning of the outbreak, official data showed on Monday.
According to the Health Ministry, the number of people who died of COVID-19 during the first two weeks of October reached 375, much higher than that in the whole September which was 243.
As of 18:00 local time on Monday, the country registered 1,896 new infections, bringing the cumulative number of cases to 119,007, including 61,522 active cases, according to the ministry.
The daily record of new COVID-19 cases was broken four times last week.
On Oct. 9, the country registered the biggest daily jump of 8,616 cases (official data previously put it at 8,618) in a 24-hour span.
On Monday night, the Czech government announced more restriction measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
According to new rules, starting from Wednesday, all types of schools except for kindergartens will be closed in the country until Nov. 1. Restaurants, bars and clubs will stay closed until the end of the state of emergency scheduled for Nov. 3, and the drinking of alcohol in public places will also be banned.
The state of emergency was declared in the Czech Republic last week and the government has introduced restrictions affecting especially culture, sport and leisure-time activities.
Starting on Monday, heritage sights, theaters, cinemas, zoos as well as museums and galleries are closed for two weeks at least. The ban also applies to concerts and all other cultural events. Visits to hospitals and public offices are restricted, too.
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As the world is struggling to control the pandemic, countries across the globe — among them European Union member states, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States — are racing to find a vaccine.
According to the website of the World Health Organization, as of Oct. 2, there were 193 COVID-19 candidate vaccines being developed worldwide, 42 of them in clinical trials.
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Source: Xinhua