Amid a continuing spike in COVID-19 diagnoses, Poland has begun setting up its first field hospital to treat coronavirus patients at the National Stadium in Warsaw. The Polish army is reportedly helping to build the facility at the Stadion Narodowy, a prime venue for sports events next to the Vistula river.
The hospital will initially have 500 beds, with the number to be significantly increased later, according to a report on wp.pl. A decision on building further field hospitals is set to be made in the coming days, depending on the progression of the disease.
Health officials yesterday confirmed 8,536 new cases of COVID-19 and 49 new deaths, with the highest number of cases in the regions of Mazowieckie (1,342), Silesia (974), and Małopolskie (934).
In Pomerania, 427 new cases were confirmed as of 10:00 Sunday morning, along with 5 additional deaths. Most new cases were reported in the city of Gdańsk (86), the poviat of Chojnice (32), and the city of Słupsk (32).
Conservative politician Przemysław Czarnek took over as Poland’s new education and science minister following a swearing-in ceremony at the presidential palace earlier this morning.
Czarnek, who is a lawmaker with the ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, took on his new role as part of a wide-ranging government reshuffling in Warsaw.
According to President Andrzej Duda, combining the two departments of science and higher education in one ministry places additional responsibility on the head of the ministry, but also allows for better coordination of various parts of the educational process.
Czarnek was originally set to be sworn in with the other ministers on October 5, but his appointment was delayed after he tested positive for COVID-19 before the ceremony.
Memorial events are scheduled to be held across Poland today to pay tribute to Jerzy Popiełuszko, a Roman Catholic priest who was killed by communist secret police in the 1980s.
Popiełuszko strongly supported Poland’s Solidarity trade union in the 1980s, serving as chaplain to workers at a Warsaw steel mill in 1980 and 1981. During the period of martial law in Poland, he celebrated monthly “Masses for the Homeland ” in which he condemned violations of human rights and called for freedom and dignity for working people.
On October 19, 1984, he was abducted, tortured and murdered by communist secret police officers. He has since been recognised as a martyr by the Roman Catholic Church and was beatified on June 6, 2010.
President Andrzej Duda previously called Popiełuszko a key figure in modern Polish history calling his death a defining moment on Poland’s path to freedom from communist oppression.
Over the weekend the city of Gdynia played host to the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships, which saw Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir shatter her own world record in the women’s half-marathon.
The 27-year-old world champion finished the roughly 21-kilometer (13-mile) race with a time of one hour, five minutes and 16 seconds, an improvement of 18 seconds over the record she set in Prague last month.
The race was originally scheduled to be held last March, but was rescheduled due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Weather
Monday will be partly cloudy and cool, with a strong breeze coming in from the west and only a slight chance of rain later in the evening. Temperatures will peak at 11°C, or 51°F, and drop to a chilly overnight low of 5°C or 41°F. Cloudy skies and similar temperatures are expected tomorrow, with a good chance of rain returning midweek.
Elizabeth Peck/ako
