Czech health minister resigns following surge in COVID-19 cases

Czech Health Minister Adam Vojtech said on Monday he had submitted his resignation following criticism over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as the central European country sees a surge in cases.

Prime Minister Andrej Babis thanked Vojtech for his work in a message on his twitter account, saying he could have been remembered as the country’s best health minister if he did not have to use all his energy to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The Czech Republic has reported growth in coronavirus confirmed cases at Europe’s second fastest pace in recent weeks, behind Spain, after the country lifted just before summer almost all measures taken during the first wave of the pandemic.

The Czech Republic’s daily count of new coronavirus cases dropped to 985 on Sunday, the third day in a row the number has decreased, data from the Health Ministry showed on Monday.

Fewer tests are done on weekends than on weekdays.

The overall number of confirmed cases rose to 49,290 in the country of 10.7 million.