Epidemic slowly dying down in most parts of Poland - minister

The opinion that the coronavirus epidemic is slowly ending in most parts of the country is justified, Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski said on Tuesday.

Speaking in Lodz, central Poland, Szumowski added that the epidemic is in a clearly decreasing phase with small numbers of new infections.

The minister told Radio Lodz and TVP3 Lodz television that according to the latest data more people are recovering from the illness and noted that among 16,000 people going to sanatoriums only 27 were infected.

"This is below 2 per mille, this shows that there is less and less active virus" which can be "caught on the street," said the minister. "A statement by the National Consultant for Infectious Diseases, Professor Andrzej Horban that this epidemic is slowly ending in most of parts of the country is justified," said Szumowski.

He expressed the hope that the fall of cases below 300 per day is a lasting trend in Poland and pointed out that average figures on new infections from the beginning of July are lower against data from early June. The situation "is relatively safe," assured the minister.

The minister also said that there was no clear increase in new cases after the first round of presidential elections on June 28.