BOCHNIA, Poland (AP) – Polish hospitals struggled during the Easter weekend with a large number of people infected with COVID-19 following a huge increase in infections in Central and Eastern Europe in recent weeks.
Stricter new pandemic restrictions have been ordered in Poland for a period of two weeks around Easter to slow down the infection rate. The country has set new records of more than 35,000 daily infections in two recent days, with hundreds dying every day.
The purpose of the new restrictions was to prevent large gatherings from ending on Easter Monday during the long weekend. Meanwhile, the government is also trying to speed up the country’s vaccination of vaccines, but the pressure on the hospitals in the country is still relentless.
On Easter Sunday, coronavirus patients filled almost all of the 120 beds in Bochnia County Hospital, 40 kilometers east of the southern city of Krakow.
“This is a difficult situation because there are a lot of patients,” said Bozena Gicala, a nurse who treats COVID-19 patients, and spoke to Associated Press reporters visiting the hospital.
She said the support of her colleagues is critical to managing the unprecedented situation.
Another nurse, Ewa Ptak, said she had COVID-19 herself and that she was on her way to help those who were suffering more than she was.
“Thank God, I went without a hospital and it was fine with me. But I know what it is and I just want to help people, ”said Ptak.
One patient, 82-year-old Edward Szumanski, expressed concern about how some people still refuse to view the virus that has killed more than 2.8 million people worldwide. Poland saw about 55,000 of the deaths.
‘The disease is definitely there and it’s very serious. “Those who have not been through it, those who do not have it in their family, may be deceiving themselves, but the reality is different,” he said.
Szumanski said he was also concerned that ICU spaces in hospitals could soon run out and that more people would die. There have been warnings and reports in the Polish media about how the country’s healthcare system is reaching a breaking point.
The hospital’s medical director, Jaroslaw Gucwa, said the pandemic was exacerbated by those who believe it was a hoax and that they were avoiding the masks or ignoring restrictions.
“The hospital is so stressed that it is discharging patients who need even more treatment” to make room for the next one in a serious condition. This is not a normal situation, “he added.
Poland registered 204 new COVID-19 deaths on Easter Sunday, but the numbers have been much higher in recent days, mostly around 500 a day. On Wednesday, it peaked at 653 for this year.
“The hardest part is when you intubate your friends and leave them in intensive care,” Gucwa said.
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