WARSAW (REUTERS) - Poland announced a staggered reopening of the economy in May as it emerges from a third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, with shopping centres set to reopen from Tuesday (April 27), followed later in the month by hotels, restaurants and other services.

Poland's health service was stretched to its limits by the third wave, which saw record numbers of daily Covid-19 cases and deaths before it peaked in April.

A raft of restrictions on public life were introduced in March, but with case numbers falling authorities had said that restrictions would be loosened in May.

"The data we are receiving on infections allows us to make a decision related to the unfreezing of the economy and provide some grounds for cautious optimism," Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference.

Morawiecki said all stores in shopping centres would be allowed to reopen from May 4. On May 8 hotels will be permitted to open at 50 per cent capacity and from May 15 restaurants and bars will be allowed to serve food and drinks outdoors.

By the end of the month, Morawiecki said that all children would be able to return to school, and restaurants would be able to serve food indoors.

Poland, which has a population of about 38 million people, has reported 2,776,927 cases of the coronavirus and 66,533 deaths.