Poland’s Covid death toll passes 100,000

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Poland’s total number of coronavirus-related deaths has surpassed 100,000 as the country grapples with a fourth wave of the pandemic.

The number of deaths per one million inhabitants was last week among the highest in the world, according to the Our World in Data project at the University of Oxford, at more than 57 compared to around 34 in the United States and 38 in Russia.

“Today we can say it is another sad day, but especially so because we have passed the level of 100,000 Covid deaths,” Polish health minister Adam Niedzielski told private broadcaster TVN 24 on Tuesday.

Poland has been grappling with a consistently high number of daily Covid cases. Although it has not reported a spike in cases caused by the Omicron variant of the virus, it imposed fresh restrictions in December to curb the spread of infection.

As of Monday, the health ministry estimates that the Omicron variant accounted for between 7 and 8 per cent of new daily cases.

Mr Niedzielski said that Poland would report around 11,400 new cases of Covid on Tuesday and 493 deaths related to the disease.

Poland reported 794 Covid-related deaths in one day in late December, while the highest daily toll during the pandemic overall stands at 954, hit in April last year.

The country may decide to introduce new restrictions if cases of coronavirus infections continue to grow, Mr Niedzielski said earlier this month.

Only 56 per cent of Poles are fully vaccinated, lower than the average in the European Union.

Polish President Andrzej Duda tested positive for coronavirus last week and was isolating after several people around him were infected. He also caught Covid last October.

Reuters