The country’s health minister Adam Niedzielski says that the fourth wave of coronavirus infections has begun in Poland.
The minister cited 269 new cases confirmed yesterday, compared to 183 a week ago.
He added that the rate of increase has jumped since the beginning of September, and that the number of daily cases could reach a thousand in the next two weeks.
At the same time Niedzielski said that part of the increase in the figures is due to a larger number of people being tested now than during the holidays.
The ministry of health said yesterday that there are currently 704 patients with Covid-19 in hospitals, and that the health system has capacity for a total of 6,000 such cases if needed.
Source: polskieradio24.pl
Pro-journalism campaigners denounce „press freedom state of emergency” in Poland
Free speech campaign group Reporters Without Borders has declared a „press freedom state of emergency” in Poland.
The group strongly criticised proposed changes to the broadcast law that could result in TVN losing its broadcasting licence, with a spokesman saying that „attacking TVN means attacking press freedom in Europe”.
The legal amendment has been rejected by the senate, but will pass back to the lower house, which could override the senate’s objections.
Reporters Without Borders also called out restrictions affecting journalists’ ability to cover the situation in the area affected by the state of emergency in force along parts of Poland’s border region with Belarus.
Reporters face general restrictions on all movement by outsiders.
Two journalists working for online news portal Onet face prosecution for filming near the border.
Source: wyborcza.pl, rsf.org, bbc.com
Interior minister says Belarus is using Interpol as a political tool
The interior minister, Mariusz Kamiński, has accused the Belarusian regime of using Interpol as a political tool, following the arrest of a Belarusian man in Poland under an Interpol arrest warrant.
The 27-year-old man was arrested by Polish police in Piaseczno on Sunday, after showing up on the Interpol system as wanted by Belarusian authorities.
However minister Kamiński tweeted that the arrest was „the result of another attempt to make political use of Interpol’s so-called red note”.
In July the minister wrote to the president of Interpol after Polish police arrested Russian rights defender Yevgeny Chasoyev, after a red note sent by Russian authorities.
Source: tvp.info
Hunters investigated after boy shot in leg
Prosecutors in Kartuzy are investigating the shooting of a 14-year-old boy during a hunt.
The boy was injured in the leg after a hunter reportedly mistook him for a wild boar.
Police have seized weapons and ammunition belonging to the hunting party, which was out in the area of Załaków on Sunday.
Source: dziennikbaltycki.pl
First flamingo hatches at Gdańsk Zoo
Gdańsk zoo is celebrating some new feathered inhabitants after a flamingo hatched out for the first time in the zoo’s history.
The long-legged flamingo chick had been incubated by both parents before hatching to spend the first six days in the nest.
He’s now started learning to swim.
Another new arrival — a red-legged seriema chick — was born just two days before the flamingo.
The seriema species is native to grasslands in South America and with its long legs, similar to a flamingo, it prefers walking to flying.
Source: PAP
Weather
Temperatures will lift again across the country today with 25 degrees Celsius or 77 Fahrenheit expected in the southwest, however in Gdańsk the mercury will reach just 18 Celsius, or 64 Fahrenheit. The day will stay dry and mostly cloudy, with overnight temperatures steadying at around 16 Celsius, 60 Fahrenheit.
Andrew Carter/MarWer
