The Czech Republic is a safe European country with a highly developed system of public healthcare and one of the highest numbers of hospital beds per 1,000 inhabitants worldwide.

In the first wave of coronavirus:

· The Czech Republic had one of the lowest per capita Covid-19 infection rates in Europe, see https://koronavirus.mzcr.cz/en/

· Pressure on intensive care hospital beds equipped with artificial respiration was minimal (less than 5% of total capacity was occupied).

Current situation

· Increase in the number of new cases is similar to that in other European countries.

· Less than 10% of patients with a positive and medically recommended Covid-19 test show clinical symptoms of the disease.

· The need for intensive care in connection with Covid-19 is in the Czech Republic minimal (currently 50 patients per 10 million inhabitants).

· In Prague, the increase in infection numbers is relatively sharp. Prague is gradually adopting epidemiological measures such as the requirement to wear face masks and limitation on the size of gatherings.

· The capacity of healthcare system in our country is sufficient and it is not expected that it may become overburdened.

Healthcare

· Public health insurance covers almost all costs of medical care recommended by a physician. This naturally extends to Covid-19 and necessary tests and examinations.

· On-demand tests are not covered by insurance. They can be taken at:

o Nemocnice na Bulovce, Praha, cost app. 70 EUR, booking and further information available at http://bulovka.cz/covid-19/testovani/test-na-covid-19/, where information is available also in English

o The First Faculty of Medicine for its students: cost is app. 25 EUR

o Further details available at https://www.lf1.cuni.cz/testovani-na-koronavirus-pro-studenty-a-zamestnance-univerzity-karlovy-na-1-lf-uk

o A list of further testing stations that provide tests on demand (without doctor’s recommendation) is available here https://koronavirus.mzcr.cz/seznam-odberovych-center