A medical specialist treats a patient in a ward for people suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a hospital in the city of Gliwice, Poland, December 2, 2021. Picture taken December 2, 2021. Grzegorz Celejewski/Agencja Wyborcza .pl through Reuters

WARSAW, Jan 19 (Reuters) – Polish state employees will switch to remote working and private sector companies are expected to follow suit as the country faces a further rise in daily COVID-19 cases, driven by the Omicron variant, which could soon exceed 50,000, the health minister says.

Poland reported more than 30,000 daily cases on Wednesday for the first time since April, intensifying debate over the need for tougher restrictions on public life.

“If these trends continue, next week the number of infections could exceed the level of 50,000 (per day),” Adam Niedzielski told a press conference.

He urged private employers to follow the public sector in requiring people to work from home wherever possible.

Poland currently has relatively lax regulations compared to many other countries, and only around 56% of Poles have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, well below the European Union average.

Under the current rules, for example, places such as restaurants and bars can supply up to 30% of their capacity to unvaccinated people.

Reporting by Alan Charlish and Pawel Florkiewicz Editing by Gareth Jones

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