Poland today reported 27,278 new coronavirus infections, its second-highest ever daily total and close to the peak of 27,875 recorded on 7 November, at the height of the second wave. The health minister, Adam Niedzielski, yesterday warned that the figure could soon pass 30,000.
Infections have been rising rapidly in Poland since mid-February, as the country grapples with the third wave of the virus. Yesterday, the number of COVID-19 patients requiring ventilators reached its highest ever level, and rose again today to 2,190.
The daily number of Covid-related deaths has also been increasing, and averages 288 per day over the last week. Testing has meanwhile been ramped up, after the government recently made it possible to get tested without a doctor’s referral. Today’s 86,200 tests is the highest since the start of the pandemic.
The total number of patients hospitalised with the virus has reached 21,858, and is approaching the November peak of 23,033. Amid a surge in cases, last week the National Health Fund (NFZ), which finances Poland’s public health system, recommended that hospitals suspend planned procedures to ensure there is enough capacity for COVID-19 patients.
Speaking in parliament earlier this week, Niedzielski warned MPs that Poland is “facing a difficult month, during which the efficiency of the healthcare system will again be tested”.
During the autumn wave of the virus, there were widespread reports of hospitals struggling to cope with the rapid rise in patients. EU data show that Poland had the highest excess death rate of any member state in 2020. In November, it recorded almost twice as many deaths as the usual monthly average.
Yesterday, the Gazeta Wyborcza daily reported that hospitals around the country are again finding it hard to cope with the surge in cases. Many say that they have no space for new patients, with queues of ambulances forming outside.
In response, the government has sought to make more beds available, including in the temporary hospitals it has created to cope with the pandemic. Yesterday, it also announced the reintroduction of restrictions nationwide, including the closure of hotels and schools.
Niedzielski says that the main cause of the current situation is the spread of the so-called British variant of the virus, which is more contagious and more deadly than other strains. It now makes up around half of all infections in Poland.
Main image credit: Hospital CLÍNIC/Flickr (under CC BY-ND 2.0)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
