The death toll increased by 91, according to public health authorities.
A total of 149,903 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Poland since the pandemic began, and 3,308 have died in connection with the COVID-19 respiratory disease so far, officials announced.
Of the new cases confirmed on Thursday, 1,306 were in the central region of Mazowieckie, which contains the national capital Warsaw.
Meanwhile, 1,303 new infections were reported in the southern province of Małopolskie, which includes the historic city of Kraków.
The western Wielkopolskie province, home to the city of Poznań, had the third-highest number of new infections confirmed by officials on Thursday, at 835.
The latest deaths in Poland’s coronavirus outbreak are 84 people with pre-existing medical conditions and seven who died directly because of COVID-19, the Polish health ministry said in a tweet.
On Wednesday, Poland reported 6,526 new coronavirus infections and its highest daily toll of 116 deaths related to the coronavirus.
6,538 in hospitals, 296,020 quarantined
The health ministry announced on Thursday morning that 6,538 COVID-19 patients were in hospitals nationwide, 508 of them on ventilators, with a further 296,020 people quarantined for possible coronavirus exposure, and 36,066 under epidemiological supervision.
Meanwhile, 85,588 people have now recovered from COVID-19 throughout the country, including 1,741 over the last 24 hours, the health ministry also said.
Amid a spike in coronavirus cases, strict new rules came into effect in Poland at the weekend under which everyone is required to wear a face covering when going out in public.
The new rules kicked in after officials last week announced a stepped-up battle against the coronavirus epidemic following a surge in both COVID-19 infections and deaths.
Beginning Saturday, October 10, people must cover their mouths and noses when outdoors in public places as well as in most indoor environments nationwide.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters on Saturday that Polish schools would stay open for now despite rising numbers of coronavirus cases nationwide.
He also announced new measures to protect senior citizens, who are among those with the highest risk of dying from a COVID–19 infection.
Following that announcement, Poland on Thursday introduced special shopping hours for people aged over 60 between 10 a.m. and noon.
Polish Health Minister Adam Niedzielski this month vowed “zero tolerance” toward people who flout sanitary rules amid the spike in infections, warning that offenders would be "severely punished."
A senior official said on Monday that Poland was not ruling out introducing a state of emergency if the COVID-19 crisis worsened dramatically in the future.
With 80 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 878 deaths per million residents, according to data released by the Polish health ministry on Tuesday, while Spain has 708 and Britain reports 631.
(gs/pk)
Source: IAR, PAP, TVP Info