The health minister has said that Poland is dealing with a pandemic explosion that may require drastic measures. For the first time since May the number of daily new Covid-19 infections has risen to over 5,000, and cases have been almost doubling week by week.

Minister Adam Niedzielski said that the government was looking at stricter enforcement of existing rules about wearing masks indoors and social distancing, and added that currently there’s no discussion about a further lockdown.

Booster doses of the Covid vaccine will be made available in the coming weeks, for adults who had the first two doses more than six months ago.

Poland’s vaccination rate of 61 percent is significantly lower than the EU average of 74 percent.

At the same time, minister Niedzielski said that the country’s cemeteries will remain open during the All Saints’ Day holidays at the end of the month—a time when Poles visit family graves en masse.

Source: reuters.com

It’s been revealed that more than 300 people have been charged in relation to the illegal transportation of migrants in Poland.

National Security Department spokesman Stanisław Żaryn said that 331 people of mostly German citizenship or residency have been dealt with this way.

There have been increasing reports in recent days of police and Border Guards stopping vehicles and finding them to be carrying illegal migrants.

A bus with 23 migrants on board was stopped by Border Guards in Podlaskie, and another in Lubusz carrying 34 migrants.

Spokesman Żaryn said that those detained were involved in the transport of people from Poland’s border areas towards Germany, which is the country most migrants arriving from Belarus say they are heading for.

Source: PAP

T-Mobile Poland is under investigation by the consumer watchdog after customer complaints that they had been charged for additional services without realising.

The charges were made for services such as games or video streaming by third parties which were activated by clicking on an advert for example.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection president Tomasz Chróstny, said phone users must have given prior consent for additional charges, and that operators should have authentication methods in place to prevent accidental charging.

The penalty for T-Mobile could be up to ten percent of annual revenue.

Similar proceedings are already underway against Orange Poland.

Source: reuters.com, uokik.gov.pl

Primary school children in Pomerania will benefit from new grants for maritime and sailing education.

14 million zlotys of funding will provide sailing lessons, new boats, and instructor qualifications for teachers.

Department of Education and Sports director Adam Krawiec said that the region’s attractive waterscape and good maritime infrastructure were reasons to support children in their development in this area.

The programme also includes study visits and sailing picnics.

Source: radiogdansk.pl

Disabled Tczew cycling addict dreams of new machine. A fundraising campaign has been launched to help a Pomeranian cycling enthusiast who rides thousands of kilometres a year, despite having lost his hands as a child.

Fifty-one year old Pan Sławomir is a familiar sight on the roads of Tczew, steering his specially-converted bike with his chin as he clocks up more than 50 kilometres per day.

As a teenager he lost both his hands in an accident when he climbed on a high voltage transformer.

He says that his long-distance rides leaving him feeling physically exhausted, but mentally rested.

The fundraiser will support Pan Sławomir’s dream of having a new carbon-frame bike, which could cost up to 25,000 zlotys.

Fundraising page: https://zrzutka.pl/jb7x69

Source: onet.pl

Weather

After a fairly calm start to the week, the weather will become unsettled in the next days, with possible storms in the Baltic Sea. Today in Gdansk will be warm and windy, with a strong southwesterly breeze and a high of 16 degrees Celsius or 60 Fahrenheit. After a mild night, tomorrow will be much cooler with a high of 8 degrees, or 46 Fahrenheit, and strong winds continuing.

RGEN/AGC