Coronavirus cases spoke as China develops new diagnosis methods

First today, authorities in China are this morning reporting a sudden spike in the number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus.

In Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, almost 15,000 new cases were reported in a single day. That brings the total number of cases in China to just under 60,000.

The number of deaths has also jumped, with 242 deaths reported on Wednesday alone.

However, authorities say the spike is down to a new method of finding cases of the virus and is not caused by any increase in the spread of the disease.

Poland remains free of confirmed cases and the Health Ministry said yesterday that 30 Poles who returned from China earlier this month are not infected.

EU Parliament debates controversial judicial reforms

In Brussels, the European Parliament has been debating controversial judicial reforms by the Polish government.

The deputy head of the EU Commission, Vera Jourova, told the parliament „the Commission is concerned with the attack on the independence of judges” adding that the commission wants an open dialogue with Poland but had to safeguard EU treaties.

In response, Beata Szydło from Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party, said the reforms were based on systems already seen in other EU states and that Poland was being denied the right to make sovereign decisions.

The controversial reforms would allow the government to discipline judges who question the appointment of new judges.

The government says the reforms are necessary to fix problems in the justice system.

The opposition say the reforms are intended to silence critics of the government.

Huuuge Games considering IPO: Reuters

In Warsaw, a major Polish video games company could be preparing to join the Warsaw Stock Exchange according to reports from Reuters news agency.

According to sources of Reuters, Huuuge Games, which makes mobile application games, is preparing for an Initial Public Offering, IPO, later this year.

The company said they were „considering various options” but „no decisions have been made”.

The Polish video games sector has grown in recent years to become one of the most successful in the world.

Another Polish games company, CD Projekt, has met massive success on the exchange, seeing its market capitalisation rise to over $7 billion in the last five years alone.

Joint ticket for Tricity transit

Here in Gdańsk, cities and towns throughout the Tricity metropolitan area have announced plans to introduce a joint monthly ticket for all transport within the metropolis.

The ticket will cost 150zł and will cover buses, trams, trolleybuses, and SKM and Regio trains within the three cities of Gdansk, Sopot, And Gdynia, as well as outlying towns like Wejherowo and Pruszcz Gdański.

In a joint statement, the mayors of Gdańsk, Gdynia, and Sopot described the unified ticket as „epoch-making”. It’s set to be available from July 1st.

It comes after Gdansk announced its own new ticket for trams and buses and trains within Gdansk. That ticket is due to start on April 1st and cost 99zł.

RG News / Thomas Holdstock