Polish President Andrzej Duda tested positive for COVID-19, but said in a video Saturday that he feels well and is not experiencing any symptoms.
“Unfortunately, the test result is absolutely unambiguous,” he said in Polish in a video tweeted Saturday. “I would like to apologize to all those who were exposed to quarantine procedures because of meeting me in recent days. If I had any symptoms, please believe me, all meetings would have been cancelled.”
Poland has seen a sharp surge in coronavirus cases and deaths recently after experiencing relatively few cases in the spring, according to the Associated Press.
Though Duda is responsible for guiding the nation’s foreign policy and signing legislation, many of his roles are largely ceremonial. Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, is responsible for running much of the government.
The country has also faced growing social tensions largely in response to new virus restrictions. Police used tear gas Saturday to disperse crowds protesting the recently adopted measures, while additional protests occurred simultaneously over a ruling from a Polish court that outlawed abortions of fetuses with congenial defects, according to AP. (RELATED: Pompeo Signs Defense Agreement With Poland, Reorganizing Troops In Europe)
Pro-choice activists from “Women Strike” (Strajk Kobiet)attends a protest in front of Poland’s constitutional court who is expected to issue a ruling that could lead to an almost total ban on abortion, in Warsaw on October 22, 2020. (WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
The government also said that it was preparing to open field hospitals throughout the country, though it remains unclear as to how it will staff them as cases continue to climb.
Poland confirmed approximately 13,600 new cases Friday, a daily record for the nation since the pandemic began. The country has had over 240,000 cases and over 4,300 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University database.
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