Radio Gdansk News in English: Polish President says COVID-19 under control in Poland

Speaking after a special meeting with members of Poland’s government on Friday, Duda also said that just around 80 ventilators were in use by patients diagnosed with COVID-19 out of more than 1,000 such devices available in hospitals nationwide. He told reporters that Poland’s coronavirus outbreaks were mainly linked to „workplaces and weddings,” and that a major surge in infections was unlikely if people followed guidelines and exercised caution. Referring to concerns voiced by some parents after schools nationwide reopened to traditional in-person classes this month, Duda said that „not a single child had died of coronavirus in Poland since the pandemic hit the country in early March.

Source – Polskie Radio

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An Austrian-owned mobile operator has had a hand in restricting internet access in Belarus amid protests against the country’s longtime strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko, news outlets have reported. 

The operator, A1 Belarus, agreed to disable internet access for users during anti-government demonstrations and fed user data to the Lukashenko regime, Poland’s Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper cited Austrian media as reporting. Meanwhile, the Austrian government in early August condemned any attempts to limit internet access for citizens by authorities in Belarus, the Polish daily reported. The operator told Austrian journalists it was acting in accordance with Belarusian law, the Polish paper also reported. 

Source – Polskie Radio

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The Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has suggested that Russia is a „hostile regime” after Germany’s Angela Merkel said that Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny had been poisoned with a Soviet-era Novichok nerve agent in an attempt to kill him.

In a tweet that did not specifically name Russia, the Polish premier referred to events in which Moscow is widely accused of involvement and used the phrase „hostile regime”. The Polish foreign ministry also tweeted on Thursday that it was „deeply concerned” that Navalny, a leading Russian opposition figure, had been poisoned with Novichok.

Source – Polskie Radio

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And finally, millions of tonnes of raw sewage has begun to be discharged into the Bay of Gdańsk after an earlier leak at a sewage plant near Warsaw in late August. The leak is the second time in a year that a malfunction at a sewage treatment plant in Warsaw has led to widespread pollution of the Vistula river.

Government scientists are currently taking samples of water from the river and the bay of Gdańsk and have warned people not to swim or partake in water sports in the river or the bay of Gdańsk until further notice. The leak has also come to the attention of the Swedish government who are monitoring the handling of the leak.

Sources – dziennikbaltycki.pl, notesfrompoland.com

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Weather

There will be chances of light rain showers in a gentle breeze throughout the day today but they will clear by evening. Temperatures will reach 18 degrees centigrade (64 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day, dropping to 9 degrees centigrade overnight. Tomorrow will be a sunny day with scattered clouds in a moderate breeze with temperatures reaching 17 degrees centigrade during the day and 9 degrees overnight.

That was the Radio Gdańsk English news and weather.

 

Martin Caren