WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland reported a record 40,876 new daily COVID-19 infections on Saturday, the health ministry said, as the Omicron variant takes hold across the country.
Authorities have said the latest wave of the pandemic will drive case numbers to levels not yet seen in Poland, with estimates of the peak ranging from 60,000 to as many as 140,000 daily infections.
Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said on Twitter that the number of tests being conducted had grown steadily over the past week, with some 151,000 test results, including 100,000 PCRs, reported on Saturday.
Poland, a country of around 38 million, has one of the world’s highest COVID-19 death rates per capita and its vaccination rate is below the European Union average. It has so far reported 4,484,095 COVID-19 cases and 103,819 deaths.
It has limited restrictions in place, including wearing masks in enclosed public spaces, but they are often not strictly enforced.
(Reporting by Anna Koper and Alan Charlish; Editing by Gareth Jones)
