Poland reported a new daily high of coronavirus-related deaths for the second day in a row on Thursday as fatalities mounted despite stabilising numbers of new infections.
After a surge in daily case numbers in October and early November, the government shut entertainment venues and many shops, warning that stricter measures could be necessary, but infection rates have since stabilised.
The health ministry reported 637 coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday, above the record of 603 set a day earlier. There were 23,975 new cases in all reported on Thursday, the health ministry said, though well below the one-day record of 27,875 registered in the country of 38 million on Nov. 7.
However the daily case tally was up from the 19,883 reported on Wednesday.
Earlier on Thursday, Deputy Health Minister Waldemar Kraska expressed optimism about the number of cases.
"I think we have come to the point where stabilisation has taken place," he told public radio station Polskie Radio 1.
The health ministry said that 22,536 beds for COVID-19 patients were occupied out of a total of 37,348 available.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish and Pawel Florkiewicz; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
