Health

Poland’s total COVID-19 death toll passes 100,000 amid fourth wave

Poland’s total number of coronavirus-related deaths surpassed 100,000 on Tuesday, the health minister said, as the country grapples with a fourth wave of the pandemic.

The number of deaths per one million inhabitants was last week among the highest in the world, according to the Our World in Data project at the University of Oxford, at more than 57 compared to around 34 in the US and 38 in Russia.
Visit our dedicated coronavirus section for the latest updates.

“Today we can say it is another sad day, but especially so because we have passed the level of 100,000 COVID deaths,” Adam Niedzielski told private broadcaster TVN 24.

Poland has been grappling with a consistently high number of daily COVID-19 cases. Although it has not reported a spike in cases caused by the omicron variant of the virus, it imposed fresh restrictions in December to curb the spread of infection.

As of Monday, the health ministry estimates that the omicron variant accounted for between 7 and 8 percent of new daily cases.

Niedzielski said that Poland would report around 11,400 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and 493 deaths related to the disease.

Poland reported 794 COVID-related deaths in one day in late December, while the highest daily toll during the pandemic overall stands at 954, hit in April last year.

Rapid testing for omicron: is a nose swab enough?

‘Deltacron’ likely result of lab error: Experts

Health

First Person: Women in Madagascar too ashamed to seek help giving birth

Some of the poorest women in an underdeveloped region south of Madagascar are “too ashamed” to seek the maternal health services they need, according to a midwife working in a health centre supported by United Nations agencies, but that may be about to change.

Health

Peace or war, midwives keep delivering

Millions of lives each year rely on the expertise and care of midwives and yet a global shortage is squeezing the profession like never before, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency UNPFA said on Sunday, marking the International Day of the Midwife.

Health

Europe: Report highlights direct link between pandemic and childhood obesity

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased obesity in school-aged children in Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) office for the region said in a new report issued on Wednesday, sounding the alarm for action.