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Poles urged to spend Easter at home, scrap travel plans as virus grows

05.04.2020 10:10
Officials have urged Poles to spend the upcoming Easter holidays at home and scrap any travel plans amid the Covid-19 epidemic.
Empty streets of Warsaw amid shelter-in-place orders due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Empty streets of Warsaw amid shelter-in-place orders due to the coronavirus pandemic.Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański

Health Minister Łukasz Szumowski told reporters on Saturday that the number of coronavirus cases in Poland was expected to climb and that there was no indication the epidemic could end in the coming weeks.

He said: "These holidays celebrate renewal and life … and let’s try to make them just that: a symbol of life, not of an epidemic that could decimate us if we intensified our interpersonal contacts."

Michał Dworczyk, head of the Polish Prime Minister’s Office, said: "The recommendation is clear: for people to give up travel this Easter, to stay home during the holidays.”

Easter is usually when Poles spend time with their extended families and travel extensively to visit their relatives.

Amid the spread of the coronavirus, the government has advised citizens to practice social distancing, while also imposing a wide range of restrictions on daily life.

A total of 3,834 people have tested positive for the COVID-19 disease in Poland, with 84 deaths from the coronavirus so far, officials said on Sunday morning.

(gs/pk)

Source: IAR, PAP