Czech Republic and low COVID-19 mortality in the heart of Europe: possible explanations

Abstract

Three months after the onset of the explosive spread of COVID-19 disease in Europe, the Czech Republic is among the few European countries with only a very limited burden of this serious infection and low case fatality rates (Figures 1 and 2). The country is very active in PCR testing, including all suspicious contacts for SARS-CoV-2 virus, and hospitals test most incoming patients. There is an ongoing discussion, about how to explain the difference compared with most the other European countries.4