Polish PM praises decisions of health minister

Thanks to the quick decisions of Minister of Health Łukasz Szumowski, we are in a much better position than most of the countries of Western Europe in terms of both public health and the economy, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Friday.

During a visit to Lower Silesia in southern Poland on Friday, the prime minister held a press conference in which he praised his health minister's quick reactions. He said all countries had faced the dilemma of "whether to save the lives and health of their citizens, or the economy."

"Some (countries) approached that dilemma in a very Darwinistic way," he said. "It suffices to read some articles from Western Europe about prescriptions for treatment or the lack of treatment for groups of people, to grab yourself by the head and think: what sort of civilisation is that, what sort of approach is that. We escaped from that dilemma."

He said that was possible thanks to the "rapid increase in bed numbers in infectious disease hospitals." He went on to praise hospital reorganisations as a crucial step in which Szumowski's role was invaluable.

"I'm glad we have such a good, effective minister as Minister Szumowski," Morawiecki said.