WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland may lift its COVID-19 restrictions in March if daily infection numbers keep falling at the current rate, the health minister said in an interview published on Wednesday.
A wave of Omicron cases pushed infections to a record high in late January, but numbers have since declined.
“If the tempo at which infections are falling remains the same, there is a realistic prospect of lifting restrictions in March,” Adam Niedzielski told the Fakt tabloid.
He said wearing masks in closed spaces would become a recommendation rather than a requirement and that returning to on-site classes in schools was a priority.
Niedzielski said he wanted to shorten the isolation period for people infected with COVID-19 to seven days from 10 currently.
Poland currently requires people to wear masks in enclosed public spaces and there are limits on the number of unvaccinated people allowed in restaurants and other venues. The regulations are often not strictly enforced.
The country of around 38 million people had reported 5,224,144 cases of the coronavirus and 106,894 deaths as of Tuesday.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
