Polish President Andrzej Duda has joined leaders from around the world in congratulating Democrat Joe Biden on becoming the 46th President of the United States.

Duda’s message came after major US media outlets, including Fox News, announced on Saturday that Biden had secured enough votes to win the Electoral College. The news of Biden’s victory came after more than three days of uncertainty as record turnout, razor-thin margins, and a surge in mail-in ballots delayed official counts in many states.

While races in Alaska, North Carolina, and Georgia have yet to be called, Biden’s margin of victory within the Electoral College all but ensures he will become the 46th president after the results have officially been certified.

Current president Donald Trump, who spent most of the weekend on the golf course away from the White House, has yet to concede the race and has vowed to fight the results in court.

Source: Radio Poland, Guardian

Coronavirus infection rates continue to climb across Poland as new restrictions, including school and shopping mall closures, took effect over the weekend. The Polish Health Ministry reported 24,785 new COVID-19 infections and 236 deaths on Sunday, down only slightly from record highs reported on Friday and Saturday.

In a press conference last week, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki warned that if the number of coronavirus infections exceeds 70 to 75 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, a „national quarantine” with „very strict bans on travel and movement” would potentially be implemented.

Infections have risen sharply over the last month, with doctors telling Polish media that the country is running out of hospital beds, ventilators, and medical staff. Health Minister Adam Niedzielski echoed their concerns, stating that 25,000 to 30,000 new infections is now the “optimistic scenario” given current infection rates.

Source: PAP, Radio Poland

In a recent survey conducted by the Pollster Research Institute, fifty-five percent of respondents in Poland expressed a fear of contracting COVID-19. One in three respondents, however, claimed they weren’t afraid of the virus and 8% reported that they were „definitely not” afraid.

According to sociologist Professor Henryk Domański of the Polish Academy of Sciences, such results are not surprising as humans „are generally optimists designed to think that other people’s misfortune will not affect us.” He went on to explain that those who have not yet gotten sick have had time to get used to the presence of the disease and thus believe they aren’t in danger, despite evidence to the contrary.

The survey was commissioned by the daily „Super Express” and was conducted between October 22 and 23 with a sample of 1,081 adult respondents.

Source: PAP, Radio Poland

Following in the footsteps of Iga Świątek, Hubert Hurkacz will return to Poland with a trophy in hand after winning the men’s doubles at the Paris Masters tournament yesterday.

Hurkacz and his Canadian partner, Félix Auger-Aliassime, triumphed yesterday after seeing off Croatia’s Mate Pavić and Brazil’s Bruno Soares in three sets (6-7, 7-6, 10-2) during the championship match. It is the first title for the pair and the first ATP doubles title for the 23-year-old Pole.

Hurkacz won his first ATP singles title over a year ago in the Winston-Salem tournament in the US state of North Carolina.

Source: Radio Poland

The 15th annual Goldberg music festival wraps up this evening with a performance by the Kölner Akademie vocal and instrumental ensemble from Germany. Tonight’s concert will feature a range of vocal and instrumental works from the 17th to the 21st century, performed on both contemporary and period instruments.

The Goldberg festival was founded in 2006 to mark the 250th anniversary of the death of Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, an 18th century harpsichordist and composer born in Gdańsk.

The concert will be broadcast online tonight at http://goldbergfestival.pl starting at 19:00.

Weather

Today will be partly cloudy and cool, with a mild breeze coming in from the south and very little chance of rain. Temperatures will peak around a high of 9°C, or 49°F, dropping to a chilly overnight low of 3°C or 38°F. Similar weather is expected tomorrow, with only a slight chance of rain throughout the week.

EP/am