Poland is not ruling out introducing a state of emergency if the COVID-19 crisis worsens dramatically in the future, according to government officials.
Ryszard Terlecki, a senior lawmaker with Poland’s governing Law and Justice (PiS) party, told reporters on Monday that the authorities were keeping their options open for how to respond to a potential further spike in coronavirus cases.
Speaking at a news conference last Thursday, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also did not rule out the possibility that Poland, like its neighbors Czech Republic and Slovakia, could move to introduce a state of emergency if the number of cases continued to grow.
Poland reported 5,068 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, its second-highest daily surge so far, and 63 additional deaths, bringing its total number of cases to 135,278 and fatalities to 3,101.
Source: Radio Poland
Recent tests have shown that Prime Minister Morawiecki does not have the coronavirus, despite coming into contact with a security officer infected with COVID-19.
Morawiecki announced yesterday morning that he had gone into quarantine after coming into contact with a person infected with the coronavirus. Despite the negative diagnosis, government spokesman Piotr Müller told reporters Tuesday evening that Morawiecki „remains in quarantine pending appropriate, further decisions by a doctor and sanitary services.”
Source: Radio Poland
Sappers on Tuesday detonated a massive bomb dating from World War II in the northwestern Polish coastal city of Świnoujście.
There were no reports of anyone being injured in the risky operation, during which hundreds of local residents were evacuated. According to Grzegorz Lewandowski, a spokesman for the Polish Navy’s 8th Coastal Defence Flotilla, the bomb „can be considered neutralized.”
The 5.4-ton British bomb, called a „Tallboy,” was found last year at the bottom of a canal during work to deepen the waterway. Historians theorize that it was probably dropped on a Lützow cruiser in 1945 as part of Allied efforts to destroy Nazi Germany’s critical infrastructure and facilities.
Source: Radio Poland
Polish director Agnieszka Holland’s new movie „Charlatan” has been selected as the Czech Republic’s candidate for best international feature film at the 93rd Academy Awards.
The film, which premiered at the Berlinale Film Festival last February, is a biopic of the herbalist and faith healer Jan Mikolášek, who lived in the turbulent era of 1950s communist Czechoslovakia.
According to the British film news website „Screen Daily,” it’s possible but rare for a director to represent multiple countries as an international feature nominee at the Oscars.
Holland accomplishes this „impressive feat” by appearing on the entry list for three different countries – Poland twice with „Pokot” in 2018 and „In Darkness” in 2012, and earlier for Germany with „Angry Harvest” in 1986.
The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony is set to take place in April of next year.
Source: Radio Poland
Police officers and canine search and rescue are still looking for a 73-year-old Gdynia woman who went missing yesterday.
The woman reportedly left her apartment on Kurpińskiego street in Cisowa around 10:00 yesterday and has not returned as of this morning. According to officers involved with the search, the woman is on medication and has no phone with her, and they are worried her life and health may be at risk.
The missing woman is 164 cm tall, of medium build and wears glasses. Anyone with information that could help in finding her is asked to contact the Gdynia police station on ul. Owsiana or call the emergency services at 112.
Source: Radio Gdańsk
Weather
Today will be cold and wet, with strong winds coming in from the northeast and a chance for rain showers all throughout the day. Temperatures will be lower than yesterday, with a high of 11°C, or 52°F, and an overnight low of 8°C or 47°F. The wind will die down overnight, but clouds will stick around into tomorrow, with rain in the forecast for the rest of the week.
EP/am
