Of the new cases confirmed on Friday, the most—2,725—were in the central Mazowieckie region, which includes the national capital Warsaw.
Meanwhile, 2,220 new infections were reported in the western province of Wielkopolskie, which is home to the major city of Poznań.
The latest deaths in Poland’s coronavirus outbreak are 147 people with pre-existing medical conditions and 51 others who died directly because of COVID-19, the health ministry said.
On Thursday, Poland confirmed 341 deaths and 18,282 new coronavirus infections nationwide, compared with 360 deaths and 20,456 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.
14,403 in hospitals, 149,043 quarantined
The Polish health ministry announced on Friday morning that 14,403 COVID-19 patients were in hospitals nationwide, 901 of them on ventilators, with a further 149,043 people quarantined for possible coronavirus exposure.
Meanwhile, 5,020,672 people have now recovered from COVID-19 throughout the country, the health ministry also said.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday that the government would lift most COVID-19 restrictions from March 1 as the coronavirus pandemic eases.
Health Minister Adam Niedzielski told reporters that “essentially, only the purely epidemic restrictions, designed to limit the transmission of the virus, will remain in place.”
These include rules on wearing face masks, isolation and quarantine, he said.
Earlier this month, the government lifted the quarantine requirement for those who have come into contact with infected persons and shortened the isolation period for people with COVID-19 from 10 to seven days.
Speaking to reporters at a news conference in Warsaw on February 9, Niedzielski said: “We are in fact dealing with the beginning of the end of the pandemic.”
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Source: IAR, PAP