Friday news summary

COVID-19 update More than 9,700 people were tested positive on Thursday, October 15th. That is around two hundred infected people more than on Wednesday. Over 1,000 people were tested positive only in Prague on Thursday. There are almost 85,000 people currently infected in Czechia, and almost 64,000 people have been cured since March. More than 1,200 people have died from COVID-19 so far. Nearly 3,000 people are now in hospital, and almost 550 of them are in serious condition.

Building field hospital The army is going to extend the number of hospital beds by building five hundred new beds in Letňany, Prague. The army is going to start building the beds on Saturday, October 17th. Hospitals are saying that there is almost not enough of staff in the standard hospitals, and it is not clear who will be treating the patients in the field hospital in Letňany.

The hospital staff in Brno that is in contact with the infected patients can stay in a hotel. Petr Hladík, the Deputy Major of Brno informed about this on Twitter on Thursday, October 15th. One of the Call Centers in Ostrava offered their services to the Regional Hygienic Station, but was refused. The Prime Minister, Andrej Babiš (ANO) asked the call centers last week to offer their help with tracing of the infected people.

Zeman to have a speech

President Miloš Zeman will address the nation tonight. The speech will be recorded and broadcast by Prima and CNN Prima News, and Czech Television, for example, has included it in the program.

Floods The water level started drop in the rivers after the strong rain has stopped. The rivers were affected by the rain in Moravia, Salesia and eastern Bohemia. The water level remains higher in the lower areas, and it should start to drop on Friday, October 16th.

Number of regular trains reduced

Due to the worsened epidemic situation and new government measures, Czech Railways will adjust the operation of long-distance and regional trains. You can find more information HERE.

TV Nova to pay for breaking the law Municipal Court decided that TV Nova has to pay 1.2 million to nurse Věra Marešová. TV Nova did not respect the presumption of innocence in its articles and reportages regarding the prosecution of Věra Marešová. Věra Marešová was accused of murdering six patients by giving them too much potassium, which causes heart collapse, and she was eventually freed because of lack of evidence of the crime.