Coronavirus cases top 20,000 in Poland

According to the country's Health Ministry, Poland confirmed 489 COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, raising the tally to 19,983.

The Ministry also reported 12 new related deaths, for a total of 965.

A total of 77,461 are under quarantine in the country, and the recoveries stand at 8,452.

Poland extended the closure of external borders to June 12. Some new businesses were permitted to reopen starting May 18, with proper sanitation and social distancing systems in place, including hairdressers, cosmetic salons, restaurants, bars, and sports facilities. The government also eased restrictions on the number of passengers on local public transportation. On June 1, all school children may return for in-person consultations. Pupils are not required to attend school; parents may decide to continue to keep their children at home.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) emerged in late 2019 in China's Hubei province, and the virus has spread to 212 countries and territories since then.

To date, COVID-19 cases surpassed 5,104,000 globally, resulting in more than 2,034,000 recoveries and over 329,000 deaths.

On February 11, the WHO officially named the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) as COVID-19, and on March 11, declared it a pandemic.