Poland's virus reproduction rate falls below 1 - health min

The basic reproduction number, or the number of new infections generated by each case of coronavirus, has fallen below 1 in Poland, which means that the epidemic is subsiding, Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski said on Thursday.

However, "if we fail to keep our distance, if we fail to act responsibly, it may go up," Szumowski told the private radio station RMF FM.

The minister said that the rate usually went up slightly in countries that decided to unfreeze their economies. If Poland observes a radical growth of the ratio, some restrictions might be reinstated, Szumowski said.

The minister admitted that Poles were coming to terms with the new situation and were refraining from being afraid. However, they were also refraining from distancing and that was bad, he added.