Poland President Duda tests positive for Covid-19

Polish President Andrzej Duda has contracted Covid-19 but is feeling "fine", a presidential minister says. Duda, 48, was tested on Friday and found to be positive, Blazej Spychalski announced on Saturday.

He joins a handful of world leaders who have caught the virus, among them US President Donald Trump and UK PM Boris Johnson.

Poland faces a surge in the coronavirus pandemic, with a daily record of more than 13,600 new cases on Friday.

The country has now entered a nationwide "red zone" lockdown that includes the partial closure of primary schools and restaurants.

While it is unclear when Mr Duda contracted the virus, he had attended an event in Tallinn on Monday where he met Bulgarian President Rumen Radev who later went into quarantine.

‘Duda’ yesterday was tested for the presence of coronavirus," Spychalski said on Twitter on Saturday.

"The result turned out to be positive. The president is fine. We are in constant contact with the relevant medical services."

Spychalski will also go into quarantine after testing positive, he tweeted.

On Friday,  Duda visited a field hospital under construction at the National Stadium in the Polish capital, Warsaw. Pictures show the president wearing a face mask while meeting workers at the site.

He also met 19-year-old tennis star Iga Swiatek, winner of the French Open this year, to award her the Gold Cross of Merit for achievements in sport.

"Neither I nor members of my team have symptoms of coronavirus. We carry out tests regularly. We will quarantine ourselves in accordance with current procedures," Ms Swiatek said in a Twitter post (tweet in Polish).

The second wave of infections is hitting Poland hard, with the number of new cases 22 times higher than the highest number of cases in spring, although testing is now more prevalent.

The number of hospital beds in use by coronavirus patients rose by 6.5% on Friday to 11,496, which means 60% of the total available are now filled.

Under the new restrictions, gatherings of more than five are banned, and children must be accompanied by an adult when outdoors. People aged over 70 are being urged to stay at home.

(Source: BBC)