The health minister and police have announced a new “zero tolerance” approach to enforcing coronavirus restrictions in Poland, as the country experiences record numbers of infections.
“We are overwhelmed by this tragic number – 58 casualties”, said health minister Adam Niedzielski, referring to today’s death figure, the highest since the start of the pandemic. “This shows the severity of our situation and that the coronavirus pandemic is indeed a deadly threat.”
Niedzielski explained that the tougher new approach will not be based on introducing further restrictions, but on ensuring that the public adheres to those already in place. These include social distancing requirements and the obligation to cover faces in many public areas.
“During the escalation of the pandemic, there is no place for selfishness,” said the minister. “Following the restrictions is not only a duty we owe ourselves but is also taking responsibility for other people.”
“Any person without a mask who does not have a document [justifying it on medical grounds] will be punished with all severity under the zero tolerance policy,” he added
The chief of police, Jarosław Szymczyk, added that the aim is not to hand out as many fines as possible. “We would rather not impose these fines at all,” he said, but “a lack of fines should result from obeying the law, not cheating or ignoring it.”
In Poland, covering faces is mandatory in indoor public areas – such as shops and public transport – across the country, and has also recently been made compulsory outdoors in areas classified as red or yellow zones due to high infection rates.
Last week, the government also required bars and restaurants to close at 10 pm in red zones, but enforcement has so far been challenging. Last weekend, police recorded 362 violations of the sanitary regime in nightclubs and public transport in one city alone – Sopot, a popular coastal resort – reports RMF24.
Szymczyk noted at today’s press conference that, in the last 24 hours, police nationwide have recorded 2,150 cases in which people were not wearing masks when they should have been, handing out 100 fines and referring a further 50 cases to court, reports Gazeta Wyborcza
Police are able to issue on-the-spot fines of 500 zloty (€110) to those failing to observe the regulations. Sanitary authorities can also seek punishments of up to 30,000 zloty.
By mid-September, police had fined 18,000 people since the start of the pandemic, with a further 7,000 cases referred to court, reported Rzeczpospolita. Over 22 million zloty of fines had been issued in total.
As of today, the numbers of active cases of coronavirus in Poland (27,441) and of hospitalised cases (3,719) are both at their highest ever level. The number of occupied ventilators has increased from 152 to 263 over the last week.
There have been reports of shortages of staff, drugs, ventilators and intensive care beds in some parts of the country The government emphasises that there remains plenty of spare capacity at the national level, but has pledged to better coordinate its use.
During the pandemic, members of the government have themselves at times faced accusations of failing to adhere to coronavirus restrictions. Campaigning for June and July’s presidential election also saw many large rallies at which candidates and their supporters ignored distancing and face-covering requirements.
Main image credit: Dawid Zuchowicz / Agencja Gazeta
Agnieszka Wądołowska is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza, Wysokie Obcasy, Duży Format, Midrasz and Kultura Liberalna
