Polish authorities on Thursday announced the country’s first death linked to the virus, which the World Health Organisation has declared a global pandemic.
Poland’s health ministry has unveiled plans to convert 19 hospitals into centres for dealing with infectious diseases, with each province to have at least one such facility.
Michał Dworczyk, head of the Polish prime minister’s office, on Friday urged the public to turn to official government sources of information about the coronavirus rather than to what he described as fake news.
He pointed to rumours that Warsaw was to be sealed off from the rest of the country. “This is nonsense,” he said.
The first case of coronavirus infection was reported in Poland last week.
The government on Wednesday announced that all schools, universities, nurseries, cinemas, theatres and museums would be closed as Poland stepped up efforts to contain the new SARS-CoV-2 virus.
A day earlier, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that large public gatherings were being banned across the country.
President Andrzej Duda has appealed in a televised address for people not to panic but act responsibly as infections rise.
Several Polish sports and showbiz celebrities including star football player Robert Lewandowski have urged fans to stay home if possible to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
(pk/gs)
Source: PAP