Poland's President Tests Positive for Coronavirus

FILE PHOTO: Polish President Andrzej Duda speaks during a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured), after their meeting, in Warsaw, Poland February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Polish President Andrzej Duda speaks during a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured), after their meeting, in Warsaw, Poland February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo
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Poland's President Tests Positive for Coronavirus

FILE PHOTO: Polish President Andrzej Duda speaks during a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured), after their meeting, in Warsaw, Poland February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Polish President Andrzej Duda speaks during a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured), after their meeting, in Warsaw, Poland February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo

Polish President Andrzej Duda has tested positive for coronavirus, an aide said on Saturday, as the country faces a record rise in cases.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, as recommended President @AndrzejDuda was tested yesterday for the presence of coronavirus. The result turned out to be positive. The president is fine," Blazej Spychalski, secretary of state in the president's office, said on Twitter.

While it was unclear when Duda was infected, he had attended an investment forum in Tallinn on Monday where he met with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev who later went into quarantine.
Poland went into a "red zone" lockdown on Saturday, including the partial closure of primary schools and restaurants.

The move came as the EU country of 38 million people saw a new 24-hour record of 13,632 coronavirus cases on Friday. The Health Ministry reported 153 coronavirus deaths, taking the total toll to 4,172. Poland has reported a total of 228,318 cases.

Poles have been asked to work remotely if they can and primary schools are partially closed with only grades one to three attending classes.

Secondary school and university students switched distance learning a week ago.

All seniors over the age of 70 have been asked to stay home.

Restaurants, cafes and pubs are only able to serve take-away meals. Fitness clubs and pools are also closed.

Gatherings are limited to five people, with weddings banned and strict limits on the numbers of people allowed in shops, on public transport and at religious services.

Poland's national stadium is being transformed into a field hospital for Warsaw and the government is building temporary medical facilities elsewhere, as the surge in coronavirus cases strains healthcare facilities to breaking point.

The government sent text messages on Saturday morning to Poles, urging them to stay home and help elderly people.



Tesla Cybertruck Explodes Outside Trump Las Vegas Hotel, Killing Driver

The remains of a Tesla Cybertruck that burned at the entrance of Trump Tower, are inspected in Las Vegas, Nevada, US January 1, 2025.  REUTERS/Ronda Churchill
The remains of a Tesla Cybertruck that burned at the entrance of Trump Tower, are inspected in Las Vegas, Nevada, US January 1, 2025. REUTERS/Ronda Churchill
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Tesla Cybertruck Explodes Outside Trump Las Vegas Hotel, Killing Driver

The remains of a Tesla Cybertruck that burned at the entrance of Trump Tower, are inspected in Las Vegas, Nevada, US January 1, 2025.  REUTERS/Ronda Churchill
The remains of a Tesla Cybertruck that burned at the entrance of Trump Tower, are inspected in Las Vegas, Nevada, US January 1, 2025. REUTERS/Ronda Churchill

A Tesla Cybertruck exploded in flames outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on Wednesday, killing the driver and injuring seven others, and the FBI was investigating whether the blast was an act of terrorism, officials said.
Videos taken by witnesses inside and outside the hotel showed the vehicle exploding and flames pouring out of it, as it sat outside the hotel, Reuters reported.
The incident occurred just hours after a man drove a truck into crowds of New Year's Day revelers in New Orleans, killing 15.
The Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas is part of the Trump Organization, the company of President-elect Donald Trump, who will return to the White House on Jan. 20. Tesla CEO Elon Musk was a key backer of Trump in his 2024 presidential campaign and is also an adviser to the incoming president.
"Obviously a Cybertruck, the Trump hotel - there's lots of questions that we have to answer," Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at an afternoon press conference.
FBI special agent in charge Jeremy Schwartz later told reporters that it was not yet clear whether the blast was an act of terrorism.
"I know everybody's interested in that word, and trying to see if we can say, 'Hey, this is a terrorist attack.' That is our goal, and that's what we're trying to do," Schwartz said.
He added that the FBI had identified the person driving the vehicle, which had been rented in Colorado, but was not yet ready to publicly identify the driver.
Musk said the blast was unrelated to the Cybertruck itself.
"We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself," Musk said in a post on X. "All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion."
Telemetry involves the automatic collection of data from remote sources, transmitting it back to a central source so it can later be analyzed.
A person was found dead inside the 2024 model-year Cybertruck and seven people sustained minor injuries from the explosion, McMahill said. He added that both the Cybertruck and the vehicle used in the New Orleans attack had been rented through car-sharing service Turo.
A Turo spokesperson said the company did not believe either of the renters of the vehicles involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat.
"We are actively partnering with law enforcement authorities as they investigate both incidents," the spokesperson added.
McMahill said the Cybertruck pulled up to the Trump building at 8:40 a.m. local time (1640 GMT). He said police were mindful of the New Orleans attack that occurred earlier on Wednesday. The FBI said a potential explosive device was found in the vehicle used in the New Orleans attack.
Las Vegas firefighters responded four minutes after the vehicle fire was reported and extinguished it. Two of the injured people were transported to hospitals with minor injuries. The Trump Hotel was evacuated after the incident and most of the visitors were moved to another hotel.
Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization and a son of President-elect Trump, posted about the incident on X. "Earlier today, a reported electric vehicle fire occurred in the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas," he wrote, referring to the building's covered entrance area.