Of the new cases confirmed on Saturday, the most—4,265—were in the the western province of Wielkopolskie, which is home to the major city of Poznań.
Meanwhile, 4,253 new infections were reported in the central Mazowieckie region, which includes the national capital Warsaw.
The latest deaths in Poland’s coronavirus outbreak are 252 people with pre-existing medical conditions and 81 others who died directly because of COVID-19, the health ministry said.
On Friday, Poland confirmed 290 deaths and 35,777 new coronavirus infections nationwide, compared with 262 deaths and 42,095 fresh cases a day earlier
On January 27, the Polish health ministry reported a record daily rise in coronavirus infections, confirming 57,659 new cases, the most since the pandemic hit the country almost two years ago.
On April 8, 2021, the country reported its highest daily toll of 954 deaths related to the coronavirus.
Poland's first case of coronavirus infection was reported on March 4, 2020.
18,912 in hospitals, 367,311 quarantined
The Polish health ministry announced on Saturday morning that 18,912 COVID-19 patients were in hospitals nationwide, 1,139 of them on ventilators, with a further 367,311 people quarantined for possible coronavirus exposure.
Meanwhile, 4,562,759 people have now recovered from COVID-19 throughout the country, the health ministry also said.
Starting Friday, Poland lifted the quarantine requirement for people who have come into contact with a person infected with COVID-19.
Two days earlier, Polish Health Minister Adam Niedzielski announced new, more lenient COVID-19 isolation and quarantine rules and said the pandemic was beginning to ease in the country.
Speaking to reporters at a news conference in Warsaw on Wednesday, Niedzielski said: “We are in fact dealing with the beginning of the end of the pandemic.”
In a previous statement last month, he warned that coronavirus infections in the country could exceed 60,000 daily cases and possibly approach 140,000 in mid-February.
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Source: IAR, PAP