Waldemar Kraska made the announcement in an interview with Polish state news agency PAP.
The deputy health minister said: “Western Europe has seen the emergence of new subvariants of the omicron COVID-19 variant, namely BQ.1 and BQ.1.1. Poland has recorded two such cases.”
Kraska explained that BQ.1 and BQ.1.1. “are subvariants of the omicron BA.5 variant, which is also producing new infections.”
He told the PAP news agency that it was “difficult to say how the situation will develop with the new subvariants," but added that the government was “monitoring the situation.”
'COVID-19 situation in the country is stable'
Asked if the COVID-19 pandemic was now in retreat, Kraska said: “At the moment, the COVID-19 situation in the country is stable.”
He added: “We have fewer and fewer infections in Poland. Today there were less than 1,000 new cases. The daily number of cases is falling by more than 30 percent on a week-by-week basis. The number of patients being hospitalised is also declining.”
“The figures we are receiving are upbeat,” Kraska also said.
He urged the public to get vaccinated, saying that “now is the best time because so far there are few new cases.”
He added that “according to preliminary research, the currently available booster vaccinations, which are targeted at omicron variants, largely provide protection also against the new subvariants.”
Flu cases drop thanks to COVID-19 restrictions
Asked if there was a danger of Poland being hit by a “twindemic” of COVID-19 and the flu, Kraska said that "thanks to COVID-19 rules," such as mask wearing, social distancing and hand disinfection, flu infections had dropped almost fourfold in Poland compared to pre-pandemic levels.
He called on the public to “be wise beforehand and get vaccinated against the flu as well," noting that the jab was available free of charge to the over-75s.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, bankier.pl