Poland's Health Ministry informed on Wednesday about 2,085 new coronavirus cases, most of them in Lubelskie and Mazowieckie provinces, as well as 33 COVID-related deaths. The country's Deputy Health Minister Waldemar Kraska said daily COVID-19 cases have risen by around 70% in the past week, warning the country that a fourth wave of the outbreak is gathering pace.
In its daily coronavirus situation report, the Ministry of Health said on Wednesday that 2,085 infection cases and 33 deaths were recorded.
Poland's health service was stretched to its limits in the spring by a third wave of the pandemic that saw daily cases exceed 35,000, but authorities believe vaccinations will help control the number of infections this autumn. "Today's data is a very fast flashing red light," Waldemar Kraska, a deputy health minister, told public broadcaster Polskie Radio 1. He added that Poland's daily COVID-19 cases have risen by around 70% in the past week to over 2,000.
"This is the last moment when we should get vaccinated, because the fourth wave is definitely accelerating, and in those regions where the number of vaccinated people is the lowest," he added.
No restrictions planned
Poland has seen the pace of its vaccination programme slow in recent months, and many people in rural southern and eastern regions have decided not to get vaccinated. However, Kraska said the government was not planning to return to the large-scale restrictions on public life seen during previous waves of the pandemic. "We do not plan any restrictions on the economy, if we do, we will pinpoint them, on the level of counties, towns," he said.
Since the start of the pandemic (March 4, 2020), when the first coronavirus infection case was reported, Poland has reported a total of 2,914,962 infections and 75,774 COVID-related deaths.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP, Reuters