Of the new cases confirmed on Thursday, the most—8,362—were in the densely populated southern coal mining region of Silesia.
Meanwhile, 7,858 new infections were reported in the central Mazowieckie region, which includes the national capital Warsaw.
The latest deaths in Poland’s coronavirus outbreak are 238 people with pre-existing medical conditions and 69 others who died directly because of COVID-19, the health ministry said.
On Wednesday, Poland confirmed 318 deaths and 56,051 new coronavirus infections nationwide, compared with 239 deaths and 39,114 fresh cases a day earlier.
Last Thursday, 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.
16,811 in hospitals, 617,908 quarantined
The Polish health ministry announced on Thursday morning that 16,811 COVID-19 patients were in hospitals nationwide, 1,076 of them on ventilators, with a further 602,336 people quarantined for possible coronavirus exposure.
Meanwhile, 4,099,013 people have now recovered from COVID-19 throughout the country, the health ministry also said.
Poland at the end of last month shortened the COVID-19 quarantine period from 10 to seven days and made free tests available to the public through pharmacies.
The government has made remote working mandatory for public-sector employees until at least the end of February as the country experiences a fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic amid the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference last month that authorities were working to expand the number of hospital beds available to coronavirus patients to help deal with a spike in cases driven by the omicron variant.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Adam Niedzielski warned that coronavirus infections in the country could exceed 60,000 daily cases and possibly approach 140,000 in mid-February.
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Source: IAR, PAP