Polish minister contracts coronavirus

A Polish minister has tested positive for COVID-19, a government spokesman said without providing details.

Poland reported 767 new coronavirus cases on Thursday. Out of the 38 million population 59,378 are infected and 1,925 have died.

Polish weekly Wprost said on its website on Wednesday, quoting unnamed sources, that Piotr Naimski, the minister in charge of key energy infrastructure, had been infected with COVID-19.

“The minister is sick and in isolation,” Naimski’s assistant said in an e-mailed response to Reuters and declined to provide more details.

A government spokesman confirmed a cabinet minister had tested positive for coronavirus, but also declined to provide details.

Naimski, 69, participated in last week’s talks between the government and coal minig trade unions on the restructuring plan for the industry. State assets ministry said that it turned out later that one of the participants had the novel coronavirus and thus this week’s talks had to be cancelled.

Naimski has worked closely with Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Law and Justice party leader and Poland’s most powerful politician. It is unclear whether the two politicians have met recently.

Until now only the Polish environment minister from the cabinet has said he became infected with the coronavirus.

Source: Reuters