Dynamics of the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak in Poland: an epidemiological analysis of the first 2 months of the epidemic.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID­19) is an infectious disease caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to present an epidemiological analysis of the first 2 months (March and April 2020) of the COVID­19 epidemic in Poland. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This analysis was based on data from epidemiological reports collected between March 4 and April 30, 2020, by the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate. These epidemiological reports include data on sociodemographic characteristics of new laboratory­confirmed COVID 19 cases, the number of COVID­19-related deaths, the number of recovered COVID-19 patients as well as the number of laboratory tests performed. RESULTS: From March 4 to April 30, 2020, a total of 12 877 laboratory­confirmed COVID 19 cases were registered in Poland (55.7% women; mean [SD] age, 50.6 [20.5] years). The RT­ PCR test was performed in 338 000 patients. The notification rate for COVID­19 was 33.2 per 100 000 inhabitants. One third of laboratory­confirmed COVID 19 cases were among quarantined persons, 26.1% were related to the healthcare system (hospital or clinic), and 13.3% occurred in nursing homes. As of April 30, 2020, 644 COVID­19-related deaths were registered in Poland (46.5% women). The death rate for the whole country was 1.7 per 100 000 inhabitants. CONCLUSIONS: Our data showed higher notification rate for COVID­19 among women than men, but men were more likely to die from COVID­19. The notification rate for COVID-19 in Poland among women aged 45 to 54 years was 2­fold higher than among men.