{"id":35386,"date":"2020-05-19T09:35:08","date_gmt":"2020-05-19T08:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cupblog.bluefusesystems.com\/?p=35386"},"modified":"2020-05-18T10:40:25","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T09:40:25","slug":"polands-response-to-the-coronavirus-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/blog\/2020\/05\/19\/polands-response-to-the-coronavirus-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Poland&#8217;s Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div><p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/journals\/health-economics-policy-and-law\">HEPL<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/cupblog.bluefusesystems.com\/tag\/country-responses-to-the-covid19-pandemic\/\">blog series<\/a>: Country Responses to the Covid19 Pandemic<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Poland\u2019s response to the Coronavirus Pandemic<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Micha\u0142 Zabdyr-Jamr\u00f3z, Iwona Kowalska-Bobko<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As of 8<sup>th<\/sup> May Poland has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldometers.info\/coronavirus\/country\/poland\/\">reported<\/a> a total of 15,200 confirmed COVID-19 cases; 5,184 recoveries; 9,260 active cases (2% being serious or critical) and 756 deaths associated with the disease (20 deaths per 1 million inhabitants). Also, according to the governmental <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MZ_GOV_PL\/status\/1258658058156285953\">daily coronavirus report<\/a>, 2,758 people are hospitalised; 104,024 are subjected to quarantine; and 17,540 are under epidemiological supervision.<\/p>\n<p>The first COVID-19 patient in Poland was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.pl\/web\/zdrowie\/pierwszy-przypadek-koronawirusa-w-polsce\">diagnosed<\/a> on 4<sup>th<\/sup> March 2020. Sanitary controls on the borders with Germany and the Czech Republic were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.pl\/web\/koronawirus\/premier-wdrozymy-kontrole-sanitarne-min-na-granicy-z-niemcami-i-czechami\">introduced<\/a> on 9<sup>th<\/sup> March. The elderly were advised to avoid public spaces. On 11<sup>th<\/sup> March, long-term care homes and hospitals introduced bans on visiting residents and patients. Also on 11<sup>th<\/sup> March the suspension of day-care, pre-schools, primary and high schools from the next day was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.pl\/web\/koronawirus\/zawieszenie-zajec\">announced<\/a>. On 12<sup>th<\/sup> March the Minister of Health (MoH) declared the \u2018state of epidemic threat\u2019 that legally enabled the MoH to issue further restrictions and mobilise medical personnel. The decision included transformation of 19 healthcare providers into COVID-19 infectious hospitals.<\/p>\n<p>On 13<sup>th<\/sup> March further restrictions were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.pl\/web\/koronawirus\/zamykamy-granice-przed-koronawirusem\">announced<\/a>, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ban on public gatherings (indoor and outdoor) exceeding 50 people.<\/li>\n<li>Shopping mall restrictions (only groceries, pharmacies and drug stores as well as laundries remain open).<\/li>\n<li>Limitation on restaurants (only take-away meals and home deliveries).<\/li>\n<li>Shut-down of non-essential businesses.<\/li>\n<li>(15<sup>th<\/sup> March) Closing of all borders to foreigners, suspension of passenger flights and 14-day quarantine for Polish citizens returning from abroad. Cargo transport remain as before.<\/li>\n<li>(16<sup>th<\/sup> March) Closure of all educational and higher educational facilities (including universities).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Remote working and education schemes were encouraged wherever possible. On March 23 the National Health Fund recommended reduction of hospital admissions and postponement of non-life-saving surgeries. Poland entered the pandemic lockdown with basic telemedicine and e-health solutions fully established just a few months prior (e-sick leave and e-prescriptions). This was further expanded to ensure a degree of continuity of services \u2013 particularly by allowing remote consultations with GPs (Poland has a gatekeeper system). Mandatory vaccination programmes were suspended.<\/p>\n<p>On 20<sup>th<\/sup> March the <a href=\"http:\/\/prawo.sejm.gov.pl\/isap.nsf\/download.xsp\/WDU20200000491\/O\/D20200491.pdf\">MoH declared a \u2018state of epidemic\u2019<\/a>. This included a ban on the export and disposal of respirators and cardio-monitors. This and follow-up regulations on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.pl\/web\/koronawirus\/wprowadzamy-nowe-zasady-bezpieczenstwa-w-zwiazku-z-koronawirusem\">24<sup>th<\/sup><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.pl\/web\/koronawirus\/kolejne-kroki\">31<sup>st<\/sup><\/a> March resulted in new, stricter rules \u2013 mostly in effect since 1<sup>st<\/sup> April, including.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Complete ban on public gatherings of any kind (more than 2 people) with the exception of families. In religious practices max. 5 people are allowed.<\/li>\n<li>Ban on leaving home for most purposes. Essential purposes include: work (when home office is not possible), grocery shopping, medical visits and pharmaceutical shopping, dog-walking. Recreational strolls near the home were allowed but further sport activities were sanctioned.<\/li>\n<li>Limit on the number of passengers on public and private transport (to half capacity).<\/li>\n<li>Closing of parks, boulevards, beaches, and forests. Ban on the use of city-bikes.<\/li>\n<li>2-meter mandated distance between people outdoors (except for parents with children), and 1.5-meter distance in work premises.<\/li>\n<li>Closing of hotels, hairdressers, etc.<\/li>\n<li>Max 3 customers in shops at a time per cash register, mandatory gloves for customers and further hygienic mandates for employees.<\/li>\n<li>Time between 10:00 and 12:00 in shops reserved for the elderly.<\/li>\n<li>Mandatory facemasks in public (since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.pl\/web\/koronawirus\/zasady-na-dluzej\">16<sup>th<\/sup> April<\/a> for everyone).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Despite the general compliance of the public, harsh penalties \u2013 reaching up to 30,000 PLN (circa 6,580 EUR) for illegal sports activities \u2013 became a subject of controversy and criticism in the media.<\/p>\n<p>On 18<sup>th<\/sup> March the Prime Minister introduced the first of a series of bills titled \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.pl\/web\/koronawirus\/tarcza-antykryzysowa-ma-ochronic-firmy-i-pracownikow-przed-skutkami-epidemii-koronawirusa\">Anti-crisis Shield<\/a>\u201d that is supposed to function as a stimulus package for the economy \u2013 particularly introducing assistance for small businesses, the self-employed and the unemployed.<\/p>\n<p>On 16<sup>th<\/sup> April the government announced plans for \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.pl\/web\/koronawirus\/nowa-normalnosc-etapy\">New Normality<\/a>\u201d, i.e. for a gradual (4-stage) lifting of restrictions from 20<sup>th<\/sup> April. Since 20<sup>th<\/sup> April more people were allowed in shops and at religious gatherings. Public parks and forests were re-opened. In phase two, hotels and shopping malls (on 4<sup>th<\/sup> May), as well as day-cares and pre-schools (on 6<sup>th<\/sup> May) were re-opened (with limitations). Quarantine rules for cross-border workers and students were softened. In phase three from May 18, there will be reopening of restaurants, hairdressers and cosmetic salons, and permission for outdoor sport events with up to 50 persons with no audience.<\/p>\n<p>During the pandemic, the Polish healthcare system suffered shortages of medical personnel and personal protective equipment as well as other essential life-saving equipment. Poland had difficulties with a limited testing capacity, having relatively low testing rates when compared to other EU Countries. As of 8<sup>th<\/sup> May Poland had tested 425,994 samples (11,256 per 1 million population).<\/p>\n<p>The pandemic also led to a crisis of the Polish democratic system, as the country struggles with safely organising presidential elections due on 10<sup>th<\/sup> May. Despite hurried attempts at preparing elections by mail \u2013 in the face of the opposition\u2019s protests and <a href=\"https:\/\/wybory.gov.pl\/prezydent2020\/pl\/aktualnosci\/37893\">serious legal controversies<\/a> \u2013 the government had to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wirtualnemedia.pl\/artykul\/wybory-prezydenckie-10-maja-odwolane-nowy-termin-kiedy-sie-odbeda-bedzie-cisza-wyborcza\">postpone elections<\/a> (the new date is unknown as of now).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Health Economics, Policy and Law<\/em> serves as a forum for scholarship on health and social care policy issues from these perspectives, and is of use to academics, policy makers and practitioners. HEPL is international in scope and publishes both theoretical and applied work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HEPL blog series: Country Responses to the Covid19 Pandemic &nbsp; Poland\u2019s response to the Coronavirus Pandemic Micha\u0142 Zabdyr-Jamr\u00f3z, Iwona Kowalska-Bobko &nbsp; As of 8th May Poland has reported a total of 15,200 confirmed COVID-19 cases; 5,184 recoveries; 9,260 active cases (2% being serious or critical) and 756 deaths associated with the disease (20 deaths per [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":857,"featured_media":34392,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[121],"tags":[6931,7276,7193,1263,7275,7274,7256,7460,1709,7258],"coauthors":[7459],"class_list":["post-35386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economics","tag-coronavirus","tag-country-responses-to-the-covid19-pandemic","tag-covid-19","tag-government","tag-health-economics-policy-and-law","tag-hepl","tag-pandemic","tag-poland","tag-policy","tag-response"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/857"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35386"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=35386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}