PRAGUE: The number of daily COVID-19 cases reported in the Czech Republic neared 10,000 for the first time since March, health ministry data showed on Wednesday.

The country recorded 9,902 new infections on Tuesday, up from 6,284 on the same day a week ago.

Hospitalisations reached more than 2,000 for the first time since May, including 288 people in intensive care.

The country like others in central Europe has seen a renewed jump in COVID-19 cases.

It is aiming to avoid the stress put on hospitals in previous stronger waves of the pandemic by boosting its vaccination rate, which is above others in the region but trails the European Union average.

As of Tuesday, 6.095 million people in the country of 10.7 million had been fully vaccinated.