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Poland has two hotspots of Indian COVID variant: health minister

04.05.2021 16:13
Poland has two hotspots of the so-called Indian variant of the coronavirus, with 16 such COVID cases in total, officials have confirmed.
Health Minister Adam Niedzielski.
Health Minister Adam Niedzielski. Photo: PAP/Marcin Obara

Health Minister Adam Niedzielski warned that new coronavirus mutations could be a factor in triggering a fresh wave of infections.

Niedzielski said one of the outbreaks of the Indian variant had been detected near the Polish capital, Warsaw, and the other in the southern city of Katowice.

Poland changing rules

He announced that everyone arriving in Poland from India, as well as from Brazil and South Africa, would have to automatically go into quarantine, and a COVID test performed within 48 hours of crossing the border would not lift the requirement.

Niedzielski added that a traveller who recently arrived from India underwent a test within 48 hours, and the result was an all-clear.

Fresh COVID-19 cases have fallen recently in Poland.

Officials on Tuesday reported 2,296 new coronavirus infections and 28 more deaths, bringing the country's total number of cases during the pandemic to 2,808,052 and fatalities to 68,133.

On April 1, the Polish health ministry confirmed 35,251 new single-day cases, the most since the pandemic hit the country more than a year ago.

(pk)

Source: PAP/IAR