Speaking after a meeting with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Health Minister Łukasz Szumowski and Chief Sanitary Inspector Jarosław Pinkas on Monday evening, Duda said: “I have made the decision that I will not be holding any large meetings in connection with my presidential campaign.”
He added that his rallies usually drew hundreds of people.
“I am very grateful for that,” he said, as quoted by state news agency PAP, “but … it seems that the risk the coronavirus might spread as a result of this is too big, and I do not want to put people at risk.”
Duda formally launched his re-election campaign at a convention of Poland’s governing conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party in the middle of last month.
Poland’s presidential elections are due to take place on May 10, with a potential second round scheduled for May 24.
Duda’s contenders in the presidential race include centrist Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska; middle-of-the-road politician Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, leader of the rural-based Polish People’s Party (PSL); leftist Robert Biedroń; far-right hopeful Krzysztof Bosak; and celebrity journalist Szymon Hołownia.
Seventeen confirmed cases of coronavirus infection have been reported in Poland.
(gs/pk)
Source: PAP