Poland says no new restrictions despite infection surge

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's resistance to introducing new lockdowns and restrictions amid skyrocketing COVID-19 infections and deaths is drawing criticism from the country's medical professionals and is bucking a growing European trend to put limits on the unvaccinated.

The populist right-wing government of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki appears unwilling to enact measures that would anger voters and deal another blow to an economy struggling with high inflation. In Western Europe, where vaccinations are markedly higher than Poland’s 53%, restrictions have recently led to protests and rioting.

“We certainly know at the moment that restrictions are not an effective means of limiting the growth of the pandemic,” Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said on Thursday, when 497 new deaths were recorded in Poland.

It is an idea sharply disputed by many doctors in Poland, who have been calling for the government to act.

In recent weeks, the rise in infections has prompted authorities to re-activate temporary hospitals that were shut months ago. Thousands of schoolkids have recently been quarantined or begun remote learning amid outbreaks.

On Friday, there were 421 more deaths reported, bringing the total number of deaths to 1,784 since Monday — a level last seen in the spring when the central European region was a global virus hot spot.

Meanwhile, 26,735 new infections were reported on Friday, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to nearly 3.5 million infections and over 82,000 deaths in the nation of 38 million people.

Across Europe, governments are imposing new restrictions in hopes of putting the breaks on surging infections. Austria has gone the furthest with a nationwide lockdown that began on Monday and will be followed by restrictions on the...