In two weeks’ time the government will end the state of an epidemic that was introduced on March 20, 2020, after the first coronavirus cases were confirmed in Poland, the health minister has told PAP (Polish Press Agency).
“The decision has been consulted on various levels of administration and we have carried out a legal analysis,” Adam Niedzielski told PAP on Friday. “In mid-May, we’ll lift the state of the epidemic and we’ll switch to the state of epidemic threat.”
The state of epidemic threat involves fewer restrictions as well as milder counter-epidemic measures compared to the state of the epidemic.
Poland has already lifted a considerable number of restrictions, including the obligation to wear masks in public spaces, as infections and deaths declined due to vaccinations but also mass recoveries from Omicron, a more infectious but generally milder mutation of the virus. Special Covid wards and temporary hospitals for patients infected with the coronavirus have been closed down in favour of regular hospital treatment.