Epidemiologist named new Czech health minister as COVID-19 cases surge

Roman Prymula, who helped lead the central European country's response to the initial coronavirus outbreak in March, will replace Adam Vojtech, who quit on Monday after criticism over the surge in new cases following an easing of restrictions. "Professor Prymula will have crisis management as his main task," Babis told a news conference, adding that meant enforcing systems put in place already to tackle the pandemic.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis nominated a top epidemiologist to become health minister on Monday after the previous minister quit over a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections. Roman Prymula, who helped lead the central European country's response to the initial coronavirus outbreak in March, will replace Adam Vojtech, who quit on Monday after criticism over the surge in new cases following an easing of restrictions.

"Professor Prymula will have crisis management as his main task," Babis told a news conference, adding that meant enforcing systems put in place already to tackle the pandemic. He said on Twitter he had nominated Prymula to President Milos Zeman, who had promised to accept his appointment.

Prymula is widely seen as a straight talker. He once warned Czechs that travel could be disrupted for two years because of the novel coronavirus, and has said daily cases could swell to 6,000-8,000 from around 1,000-3,000 now. Before the start of the summer, the government lifted almost all restrictions imposed during the first wave of the pandemic. The rate of new coronavirus cases has grown at the second fastest rate in Europe in recent weeks.

Vojtech had been heavily criticised over the new wave of infections although some opposition politicians saw him as a scapegoat for the government, which critics say has been inconsistent in managing its response. "The prime minister is more responsible as he strongly and incompetently interferes with Health Ministry work," Marian Jurecka, chairman of the opposition Christian Democrats, wrote on Twitter.

Babis is due to address the nation on television on Monday after he said on Sunday he would not post his usual weekly video message on Facebook. He gave no further details. The ministerial change is two weeks before regional elections, and debate in the government is growing over whether the government should take steps allowing it to impose stricter measures if needed.

In the past 14 days, the Czech Republic has had 193 cases per 100,000 people, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, less than only Spain. Almost 49,300 people have been infected with the coronavirus in the Czech Republic. The 'R' number, which measures how many people are likely to be infected by one person carrying the virus, has hit 1.6.

The virus has killed more than 500 people in the country, an 18% rise since Aug. 31, while hospitalisations have almost tripled in that time.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)