Poland will need to consider tighter COVID-19 restrictions if average daily cases exceed 7,000, the health minister was quoted as saying on Monday, as the government warned that infections were almost doubling each week. Minister Adam Niedzielski also informed about a rising number of Delta+ variant of the coronavirus.
Central and eastern Europe, where vaccination rates are lower than in the west of the continent, has seen a surge in cases in recent weeks, with officials in Poland urging the public to get vaccinated and follow the restrictions in place.
"If, at the end of October, we are at an average level of over 7,000 cases per day, we will have to consider taking some more restrictive steps," Adam Niedzielski was quoted as saying by state-run news agency PAP. "Decisions will be made at the beginning of November."
He added that a new variant of the coronavirus, known as Delta+, has emerged. "We are starting to record it locally. The first case was reported in September. So far, we have recorded over 120 cases, but 99% of all cases are the standard version of Delta," he said.
However, Niedzielski stressed that the government was not considering a lockdown, and that "decisions will be made in early November". "We need to be sure how the pandemic develops in the last week of October," he explained.
Finally, he reassured that schools would definitely remain open, while potential restrictions would most likely be introduced only in the worst-hit regions.
On Saturday Poland reported more than 6,000 daily cases for the first time since May.
Deputy Health Minister Waldemar Kraska told public broadcaster Polskie Radio 1 on Monday that daily cases were growing at a pace of around 90% week-on-week.
"The results we got on Monday do not reflect what stage of the pandemic we are currently at, they are always lower... but what is more important is this strong uptrend, and at a high level, which is holding, at the moment it is around over 90% compared to last week," he said.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters, PAP