Coronavirus highly likely to appear in Poland - PM

It is highly probable, almost certain, that a case of coronavirus will occur in Poland, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told an extraordinary sitting of the Sejm, lower house, on Monday. He said that three cases have already been recorded in the Czech Republic.

"Our uniform approach to this issue, a calm, toned-down, and cross-party-based dialogue is extremely important to properly prepare society for the emergence of this epidemic," Morawiecki added.

According to the prime minister, Poland is prepared "in the best possible way" for a potential occurrence of coronavirus in Poland. "Each effective and wise strategy must be preceded by dialogue and best practices implemented into the system," he said.

"The current debate is the best proof of how seriously we approach this problem," Morawiecki added thanking President Andrzej Duda for the initiative of convening an extraordinary Sejm session on the issue.

The prime minister also said that the Polish government has initiated a number of activities on the EU forum, including a meeting of the EU Council, requested by Polish Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski. He added that he has also discussed the problem with European Council President Charles Michel and the prime ministers of the Czech Republic and Hungary, Andrej Babis and Viktor Orban.