The restrictions, which were already in force in four regions badly hit by the epidemic, have been extended to cover the whole of Poland for three weeks from Saturday.
Hotels, cinemas, theaters and sports facilities have closed, while curbs have been imposed on shopping malls.
"If this move does not put an end to the epidemic, or at least slows the third wave, then the next steps will be a typical lockdown, a situation where we will completely close everything," Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said at a press conference earlier this week.
The new restrictions were announced on Wednesday after coronavirus infections soared.
On Saturday, officials reported 26,405 new infections – over 5,000 more than the same day last week – and 349 more deaths.
That brought Poland's total number of cases during the pandemic to 2,036,700 and fatalities to 49,159.
On November 7, the Polish health ministry confirmed 27,875 new single-day cases, the most since the pandemic hit the country last March.
Niedzielski said on Wednesday that the more contagious so-called British variant of the virus was spreading fast and now accounted for 52 percent of all COVID-19 cases in Poland.
(jh/pk)
Source: PAP