WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki appealed to abortion rights activists on Thursday to halt mass protests, saying they would fuel more coronavirus infections and threaten the elderly.Tens of thousands of mostly young people have gathered across Poland since a top court ruling last week introduced a near total ban on abortion in the predominantly Catholic nation. Demonstrations have turned into an outpouring of anger against Morawiecki’s nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, with protesters blaming it, and the powerful Roman Catholic Church, for the Constitutional Court’s decision. Coronavirus infections have been rising sharply in Poland over the past weeks and on Thursday the total number of cases topped 300,000, tripling in under a month. A daily record of more than 20,000 was recorded. “I am appealing to those protesting. Please focus your anger on me,” Morawiecki told a news conference. “Issues of worldview are very important but let’s (discuss them) in a way that doesn’t also endanger our mothers and fathers,” Morawiecki said, standing in a field hospital being built in Warsaw’s national stadium.