Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has described the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines as „a light at the end of the tunnel” as Poland begins to gear up for a national COVID-19 vaccination strategy. In a media interview over the weekend, Morawiecki claimed that Poland „can expect to be able to slowly begin to recover from the epidemic” in the second quarter of next year if residents „sign up to vaccinate themselves en masse”.

His pronouncements come on the heels of a recent study showing that 38 percent of Poles do not intend to be vaccinated. Only 17% intend to do so as soon as vaccines are available, with an additional 23 percent adopting a “wait and see” approach. The study by the Medical University of Warsaw (MUW) and ARC Rynek i Opinia was released last Friday.

If the European Medicines Agency approves the Pfizer vaccine for use this week, Poland and other EU countries could start vaccination as early as December 27.

Source: Radio Gdańsk, Radio Poland

Poland considers suspending flights to UK

The Polish government is considering suspending flights to the UK amidst disquieting reports of a new, more contagious strain of coronavirus that has emerged there.

According to government spokesman Piotr Mueller, a crisis management team is meeting today in Warsaw to discuss possible air travel restrictions between Poland and Britain. According to reports by Reuters, Germany, France, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, and Austria have already suspended or restricted flights to and from Britain as of Sunday evening.

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday that a new, more infectious strain of COVID-19 had already led to spiraling infection numbers in his country, resulting in a severe lockdown for areas in and around London.
 
Source: Radio Poland, Reuters

International flight diverted to Gdańsk

A Wizzair flight from Moscow to London was diverted to the Gdańsk airport yesterday afternoon after a passenger admitted to bringing on suspicious luggage.

According to airport representatives, one of the passengers “remembered” mid-flight that he had brought on board a piece of “suspicious luggage” that he had received from a stranger in Moscow.

Following the report, the plane was diverted to Gdańsk, where the suspicious luggage was inspected and offloaded. After inspection, the plane continued to London Luton airport, while the suspicious luggage remained behind in Gdańsk. The Polish Border patrol is still looking into the issue.

Radio Gdańsk, Trójmiasto.pl

Polish ski jumpers finished second and third at World Cup events in Engelberg, Switzerland, over the weekend.

Top Polish ski jumper Kamil Stoch came in runner-up on Saturday, claiming his first individual podium of the season. He was followed by fellow Pole Piotr Żyła, who finished third in the men’s ski-jumping event on Sunday, claiming his 14th career individual World Cup podium.

Two other Poles, Andrzej Stękała and Dawid Kubacki, also made the top 10 on Saturday, finishing seventh and ninth, respectively.

Poland has twice taken the bronze in the team competition, last month at the World Cup season-opening team competition in Wisła, Poland, and again last weekend in Planica, Slovenia. The team will have another chance for World Cup glory at the end of the month, as the ski jumping competition moves to Germany.

Source: Radio Poland, fis-ski.com

Today will be mostly cloudy and cool, with a light breeze coming in from the southwest and a chance for rain in the early afternoon. Temperatures will remain above freezing, with a high of 3°C, or 38°F, dropping to a low of 2°C or 35°F. Similar wet weather is expected throughout the week, with a chance for some sunshine midweek.

Elizabeth Peck/mw