Niedzielski said the rising rates of infection were a cause for concern.
Wojtek Jargiło/PAP

The UK coronavirus variant has started to spread in Poland, the health minister has warned.

“We received information last week that the share of this mutation stood roughly at 5 percent of a sample of about 200 people who were tested,” said Adam Niedzielski. “Subsequent samples being processed, show that, unfortunately, the share of the British mutation is increasing.”

British experts have recently reported that this mutation is not only more contagious by 50-75 percent, but is also possibly associated with a higher risk of hospitalisation and death.

The latest data by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the GISAID database show that the B.1.1.7 variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly through Europe and is already the dominant strain in Great Britain, Italy and Sweden.

Niedzielski also said the rising rates of infection were a cause for concern.

“The trend that has so far led to a decrease in the daily number of cases is reversing,” he stressed. “It is turning into a trend that is permanent, and one that is leading to the number of cases increasing day by day.”

On Wednesday, the Health Ministry reported 8,694 new cases of coronavirus infections in Poland, while the total number of infections reached 1,605,372.