WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s daily coronavirus cases topped 2,000 for the first time on Friday, the latest record in a surge in infections that has raised the possibility that tougher restrictions will be introduced in the country.
Having weathered the first wave of the pandemic better than most western European neighbours, Poland has seen daily infection rates spike, with more than 1,000 new cases each day over the last week.
The country of 38 million reported 2,292 daily coronavirus cases and 27 deaths related to COVID-19 on Friday, the health ministry’s Twitter account said. In total, Poland has reported 95,773 cases of the coronavirus and 2,570 deaths.
While in the earlier stages of the pandemic, infections were concentrated mainly in the industrial south, recent data has shown high infection rates in central and northern Poland as well.
On Thursday, the government updated its list of red and yellow zones – areas that have more cases and therefore tougher restrictions – which will come into effect on Saturday. The zones include the northern cities of Gdansk, Sopot and Gdynia, as well as the city of Szczecin.
The health ministry said on Thursday that Warsaw was also at risk of being added to the yellow or red zones.
“The government and the health ministry are closely watching the situation, which is under control,” the prime minister’s Chief of Staff Michal Dworczy Michal Dworczyk told private radio on Friday.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish and Agnieszka Barteczko; Editing by Alison Williams and Barbara Lewis)
