English Service

Radio Gdansk News in English: Poles will have to wear masks or scarves

The Polish health minister has announced that Poles will have to wear masks or scarves covering their nose and mouth when out in public from next Thursday. The minister said the move was aimed to help those around us, rather than ourselves.

He told reporters that the COVID-19 disease was spreading in Poland, and some people who were infected showed no symptoms. Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, also announced that a swathe of restrictions on daily life were being extended until at least April 19th in order to continue the fight against the epidemic in Poland.

Poland’s Development Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz will take on an additional role as deputy prime minister after she was appointed by the president at the request of the prime minister yesterday.

The announcement comes after the current deputy prime minister, a prominent conservative politician, last week tendered his resignation amid a dispute over the upcoming presidential election. He recommended Emilewicz as his choice to replace him as deputy prime minister.

The World Bank has said that it expects Polish GDP growth this year to slow to 0.4 percent as a result of the coronavirus, followed by a possible rebound to around 2 percent in 2021.

The bank was quoted as adding that there was a “call for substantial investments in healthcare and social safety nets, and for swift support to be made available to enterprises without excessive administrative burdens.” The lower house of Poland’s parliament in the early hours of Thursday backed plans to offer more support to the economy and protect jobs amid the coronavirus epidemic. The Polish economy grew 3.2 percent in the final quarter of last year and expanded by 4 percent in 2019 as a whole, according to the state-run Central Statistical Office.

And finally, a policeman from Gdansk has helped to free a litter of kittens and their mother who had become stuck in a car engine bay.

On Wednesday this week, a member of the traffic police was contacted by a local animal shelter worker asking for help in rescuing the cat and her kittens. The shelter volunteer had initially arrived to help the cat who had given birth to 4 kittens under the balcony of a block of flats. They had managed to rescue two kittens and put them in a cage but the frightened mother took flight taking the remaining kittens under the bonnet of a nearby car in order to protect them.

Police located the owner who gave them permission to jack up the car to extract the kittens and mother. The rescue mission ended in success and mother and kittens are healthy and safe and are now awaiting adoption.

Weather

Friday will be a sunny day with a gentle breeze from the North. Temperatures will reach around 12 degrees centigrade (54 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day, dropping to freezing point overnight.

Saturday will remain sunny with scattered clouds and a temperature of 12 degrees again. The weather will remain settled as we go into next week.

RG News/MC/ako