Poland’s Health Minister, Lukasz Szumowski, has announced he is to resign.

Mr Szumowski has been at the centre of Poland’s fight against coronavirus and became a household name for his frequent press conferences during the spring lockdown.

Announcing his decision yesterday, Mr Szumowski, who is a cardiologist by trade, said he made the decision to resign in February but chose to stay on when coronavirus struck Poland. He said he now plans to return to his profession.

Mr Szumowski added he now felt able to resign since Poland has largely overcome the first wave of the virus. Poland has so far been spared the death tolls and economic damage seen in many other countries.

TRIBIUTE FROM THE PRIME MINISTER

Prime Minister Morawiecki paid tribute to the outgoing Health Minister, describing him as the hardest working health minister in 30 years, and thanking him for his commitment, knowledge, and the sleepless nights working to slow the virus.

Others have questioned the timing of the resignation, coming just a day after the Deputy Health Minister also quit. One MP compared the move to the captain and first officer abandoning ship.

There’s no word yet on who will replace Mr Szumowski, but with COVID cases once again on the rise, the role of Health Minister looks set to remain of vital importance for the foreseeable future.

Pressure is continuing to mount on the embattled Belarusian President Aleksandyr Lukashenko as more countries weight in on the situation in the country.

Belarus has been gripped by massive protests for the past 10 days following the country’s contested, and allegedly rigged presidential election.

More world powers have been stepping into the scene recently. Belarus’s eastern neighbour Russia has reportedly offered to intervene militarily if requested by the Belarusian government. The kremlin has also reportedly told western governments to keep out of it.

In response, European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have called on Russia to support dialogue and respect freedom to peacefully protest.

European Union leaders are meeting today to discuss the situation, including the possibility of sanctions against Belarus.
In Pomerania, Kashubians have been celebrating their Flag Festival.

Gdansk and much of the province donned black and yellow yesterday to celebrate the pride and history of the Kashubian land and its people.

Black and gold, the traditional colours of the Kashubian flag, could even be seen flying on the great mast on Gradowa Gora, the largest Kushubian flag in the world.

Canada’s ambassador has been cycling across Poland this week for the Sopot Literature Festival.

Ambassador Leslie Scanlon is making the 370-kilometre journey from Warsaw by bike to visit Sopot. But it’s not just the seaside and beautiful weather she’s after.

Every year the Sopot’s literature festival, Literacki, features a different country as its focus. This year the festival is starring Canadian authors in pride of place.

In a video posted on social media, Ambassador Scanlon said she would be bringing along three Canadian books and a biography of the Canadian philosopher, Marshall McLuhan.

If you’d like to see some Canadian literature, the Literacki festival starts tomorrow across Sopot.

Weather

Getting cloudier with some moderate winds as we go into the afternoon with temperatures feeling cooler than yesterday at 23C, 73F.

A cool night with a bright start tomorrow.

RGEN/Thomas Holdstock/pb