Fifth daily infection record in a week. 726 cases on Thursday

The new record of 726 new cases, the first time daily cases have topped 700, came as the health ministry said restrictions would return in 19 counties worst affected by the pandemic.

These would include obligatory wearing of masks and only using half the seats on public transport, Deputy Health Minister Janusz Cieszyński told a news conference.

"We will also limit the number of people who will be able to attend weddings, funerals and other celebrations," he said.

Silesia in the south had the largest number of new infections with 137. The region has been battling an outbreak among miners and the rapid spread of infections led to a temporary reduction of coal output in June.

Poland has reported a total of 49,515 coronavirus cases and 1,774 deaths, according to the ministry.

Poland may see a further increase in coronavirus infections, which could reach up to 700 per day during and after this weekend, the health minister said earlier on Thursday.

"During the weekend and after, we are still expecting the numbers at 500, 600, and maybe 700, because we're planning to take samples from up to 2,000 employees (of big industrial units such as coal mines) a day," said the minister.

The spokesperson for the government, Piotr Müller, said on Thursday that there were no premises at the time to impose mandatory quarantine on people returning from abroad.

"I hope that it (decision to impose quarantine) will not have to taken at all. However, we need to stress that such risk exists at all times, and therefore to caution people planning foreign trips," Müller added.

Poland intends to fully reopen its schools on September 1, the education minister said on Wednesday, despite a recent renewed spike in coronavirus infections. Poland was initially successful in containing the outbreak, but cases started rising after restrictions on public gatherings were eased. "We want students to come back to normal education in schools from September," said Education Minister Dariusz Piontkowski. He said the ministry would impose strict hygiene and safety rules for schools, as well as criteria under which some schools could switch to online or a mix of online and in-class instruction in case of local infection spikes. Wearing masks in classes would not be mandatory.

"We are not planning to limit the number of students in class. If there is an epidemic threat, the headmaster may adopt a solution where the number is limited or some students come to school and others learn online," Piontkowski added. He further said the conservative government would oblige parents to send their children back to school even if they worried about infections, as "a parent is not an epidemiologist". Parents, teachers and education activists say they are hoping children can return to class but are deeply concerned about overcrowded schools in big cities. "In Poland, in big cities, we have up to a thousand children in one school... Maintaining any social distance under such conditions is impossible," said Dorota Łoboda, an education activist and Warsaw city council member from the main, liberal opposition party Civic Coalition.