Of the new cases confirmed on Thursday, 1,555 were in the western province of Wielkopolskie, which is home to the major city of Poznań.
Meanwhile, 1,318 new infections were reported in the central region of Mazowieckie, which includes the national capital Warsaw.
The north-central province of Kujawsko-Pomorskie, which contains the historic city of Toruń, had the third-highest number of new infections confirmed by officials on Thursday, at 1,138.
The latest deaths in Poland’s coronavirus outbreak are 338 people with pre-existing medical conditions and 93 who died directly because of COVID-19, the Polish health ministry said in a tweet.
On Wednesday, Poland confirmed 605 deaths and 12,454 new coronavirus infections nationwide, compared with 349 deaths and 6,907 fresh cases a day earlier.
On November 25, the country reported its highest daily toll of 674 deaths related to the coronavirus.
On November 7, the Polish health ministry confirmed 27,875 new single-day cases, the most since the pandemic hit the country in early March.
18,707 in hospitals, 203,638 quarantined
The health ministry announced on Thursday morning that 18,707 COVID-19 patients were in hospitals nationwide, 1,721 of them on ventilators, with a further 203,638 people quarantined for possible coronavirus exposure, and 9,463 under epidemiological supervision.
Meanwhile, 903,349 people have now recovered from COVID-19 throughout the country, including 10,699 over the last 24 hours, the health ministry also said.
Second wave hits hard
Tougher measures to battle COVID-19 came into effect across Poland last month following a surge in cases amid a second wave of the pandemic.
As part of the restrictions, hotels are only able to take in guests on business trips, while theatres, cinemas, museums and galleries have been told to close temporarily.
The government has announced that restaurants, cinemas, theaters and gyms will remain closed until at least December 27.
Schools and universities throughout the country have returned to distance learning.
Under restrictions announced in October, children under 16 are only allowed to leave their homes under the supervision of an adult between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Meanwhile, pubs, restaurants and cafes are only allowed to provide take-aways and delivery orders.
Gatherings of more than five people have been forbidden, though people who live or work together are exempt from the rule.
Also, the government has appealed to people aged over 70 not to leave their homes unless necessary.
Poland in October introduced special shopping hours for people aged over 60 between 10 a.m. and noon.
Amid a spike in coronavirus cases, strict new rules came into effect in the country earlier this fall under which everyone is required to wear a face covering when going out in public.
Beginning October 10, people must cover their mouths and noses when outdoors in public places as well as in most indoor environments nationwide.
Amid an escalating outbreak, the country has decided to set up a network of temporary hospitals to treat coronavirus patients.
Meanwhile, those testing positive for COVID-19 are being monitored remotely from their homes using special finger-clip devices called pulse oximeters, under an initiative announced by the country’s health minister at the end of last month.
Warnings of 'third wave'
Deputy Health Minister Waldemar Kraska told the media at the end of last month that Poland was preparing to handle a possible "third wave" of the coronavirus pandemic early next year.
Polish Health Minister Adam Niedzielski has warned that the chances of the country being hit by a third wave of the coronavirus will be greater if people do not spend the winter school break at home.
Niedzielski said this week that "the spectre of a third wave is very real."
Poland's Health Minister Adam Niedzielski. Photo: PAP/Marcin Obara
With 607 COVID-19 deaths per million population, Poland remains less affected by the coronavirus epidemic than some other countries in Europe, new statistics have shown.
To compare, Belgium has 1,546 deaths per million residents since the start of the pandemic, according to new data released by the Polish health ministry on Tuesday, while Italy has 1,076 and Spain reports 1,027.
Vaccines on the horizon
Poland plans to spend PLN 3 billion (EUR 675m, USD 820m) on over 60 million doses of coronavirus vaccines under a national inoculation programme adopted by the government on Tuesday.
Health Minister Adam Niedzielski told reporters on Tuesday that the first vaccines could arrive in Poland by the end of this year.
First in line to be inoculated will be healthcare staff, followed by pensioners in care homes, people over 60 (with the oldest given priority), police, soldiers and teachers, officials said.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced on December 8 that his government had secured vaccines for the Polish population from six leading international drug makers.
The Polish prime minister's top aide, Michał Dworczyk, said earlier this month that the country was preparing to roll out its COVID-19 vaccination programme and planning around 8,000 vaccination sites nationwide.
Photo: PAP/EPA/BIONTECH SE/HANDOUT
"We want there to be a vaccination point in every district," Dworczyk told public broadcaster Polish Radio on Friday, December 4.
Dworczyk said last week that vaccinations could start in January, but the exact date depended on the producers.
The European Union, of which Poland is part, has struck deals to secure vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna, CureVac, Sanofi-GSK, and Johnson & Johnson, taking its potential stock of COVID-19 shots to nearly 2 billion, news agencies have reported.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is expected to produce a scientific opinion on Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine seeking regulatory approval on December 21.
Meanwhile, Britain on December 2 became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for general use, with the first shots administered to citizens early last week.
(gs/pk)
Source: IAR, PAP, TVP Info, Reuters