Tuesday news summary

Covid update

The share of newly confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the number of tests performed was the highest since 11 November on Monday. Over 30 percent of tested people were positive. The risk index in the anti-epidemic system PES has been on the fifth level of alert for the fifth day in a row. From Friday to Tuesday, it stays at 76 points out of a hundred. This follows from data on the website of the Ministry of Health. In the Czech Republic, the fourth degree of PES is officially valid so far. The government will discuss further restrictions that might come into effect on Friday.

The EU could have over 12 million vaccines by the end of this year

The German company BioNTech said on Tuesday that it will deliver 12.5 million doses of coronavirus vaccine (developed together with the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer) to the European Union by the end of this year. The director of the company is convinced that the vaccine will also be effective against a new strain of coronavirus that has appeared in Britain.

A new application could help with searching for missing children

The application called the ECHO, created by two police officers, might help with searching missing children. Dissemination of information among smartphone users should significantly increase the chances of finding a child and shorten the time spent searching. Every year, it is approximately 20 children that the police have to search for.

The new taxation package confirmed

The Chamber of Deputies has confirmed the abolition of the super-gross wage and its replacement by two personal income tax rates of 15 and 23 percent. The higher rate will apply to incomes above about 140,000 crowns per month. The Chamber of Deputies also approved in the government tax package the introduction of a meal voucher credit, which is to be an alternative to existing meal vouchers.