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

INTRODUCTION Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) 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 COVID-19 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 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases, the number of COVID-19-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 laboratory-confirmed 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 COVID-19 was 33.2 per 100 000 inhabitants. One-third of laboratory-confirmed 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 COVID-19 -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 COVID-19 among women than men, but men were more likely to die from COVID-19. The notification rate for COVID-19 in Poland among women aged 45 to 54 years was 2-fold higher than among men.