The death toll increased by 53, according to public health authorities.
A total of 121,638 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Poland since the start of the pandemic, and 2,972 have died in connection with the COVID-19 respiratory disease so far, officials said on Saturday.
Of the new cases confirmed on Saturday, 816 were in the central region of Mazowieckie, which includes the national capital Warsaw.
Meanwhile, 631 new infections were reported in the southern province of Małopolskie, which contains the historic city of Kraków.
The country's north-central Kujawsko-Pomorskie region had the third-highest number of new infections confirmed on Saturday, at 554.
The latest deaths in Poland’s coronavirus outbreak are 49 people with pre-existing medical conditions and four who died directly because of COVID-19, the Polish health ministry said in a tweet.
On Friday, Poland reported 52 deaths and 4,739 fresh cases, its second-highest number of single-day infections since the pandemic hit in early March.
On Thursday, the country reported its highest daily toll of 76 deaths related to the coronavirus and 4,280 new infections nationwide, up from 3,003 cases on Wednesday.
4,725 in hospitals, 206,048 quarantined
The health ministry announced on Saturday morning that 4,725 COVID-19 patients were in hospitals nationwide, 346 of them on ventilators, with a further 206,048 people quarantined for possible coronavirus exposure, and 31,863 under epidemiological supervision.
Meanwhile, 78,982 people have now recovered from COVID-19 throughout the country, including 1,107 over the last 24 hours, the health ministry also said.
Amid a spike in coronavirus cases, strict new rules came into effect in Poland on Saturday under which everyone is required to wear a face covering when going out in public.
The new rules kicked in after officials this week announced a stepped-up battle against the coronavirus epidemic following a surge in both COVID-19 infections and deaths.
Beginning Saturday, people must cover their mouths and noses when outdoors in public places as well as in most indoor environments nationwide.
Polish Health Minister Adam Niedzielski on Tuesday announced “zero tolerance” towards people who flout sanitary rules amid the spike in infections, warning that offenders would be “severely punished.”
With 70 COVID-19 deaths per million population, Poland remains far less affected by the coronavirus epidemic than many other countries in Europe, new statistics have shown.
To compare, Belgium has 867 deaths per million residents, according to data released by the Polish health ministry on Tuesday, while Spain has 689 and Britain reports 623.
(gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, TVP Info