"Grim scenario unfolds". Stricter COVID rules in two more regions

Health Minister Adam Niedzielski on Thursday said that "the grim scenario unfolds as to the pandemic growth dynamics".

"The spike in daily infections caused the average for the last seven days exceed 14,000 cases. This 27 percent more than last week, when the average stood at 11,000. Comparison of these figures shows that the pandemic grows at a very rapid pace. Unfortunately, this is a sustained trend" - minister Niedzielski said.

Speaking about hospital beds and ventilators dedicated to COVID-19 patients, Mr Niedzielski said the situation was "difficult". He added that the worst situation was in Warmiński-Mazurskie and Pomorskie provinces.

The next two provinces with the highest infections average are Mazowieckie and Lubuskie. Therefore, the minister announced that additional restrictions would be imposed in the said regions. The new rules enter into force on March 15 and will be in place until March 28.

The new restrictions include closing shopping malls, museums, galleries, hotels, cinemas and theatres, swimming pools and tennis courts. In primary schools, classes in grades I-III will be able to be organised in a mixed model (online and stationary).

Poland reported 21,045 daily coronavirus cases on Thursday, health ministry data showed, the highest tally since November, as the country faces a surge in infections driven by a highly contagious variant of the virus first identified in Britain.

"We have exceeded the level of 21,000 infections, which shows that... the third wave is rising," health ministry spokesman Wojciech Andrusiewicz told state-run news agency PAP.

In total, the country has reported 1,849,424 cases of the coronavirus and 46,373 deaths.

Poland eased some restrictions last month, reopening ski slopes as well as cinemas, hotels and theatres for up to 50% capacity, which initially resulted in massive tourist visits to popular ski resorts.

The government then resumed curbs in the Pomorskie and Warmińsko-Mazurskie provinces, as they reported a higher infection rate per 100,000 people than other parts of the country.