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.



Russian Troops Push into Ukraine’s Sumy Region

 In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following a Russian attack in Sumy, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following a Russian attack in Sumy, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
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Russian Troops Push into Ukraine’s Sumy Region

 In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following a Russian attack in Sumy, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following a Russian attack in Sumy, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Russia said on Sunday that its troops had taken the village of Basivka in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, and were battering Ukrainian forces at a host of settlements in the area.

More than two years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv sent thousands of troops over the border into Russia's Kursk region in August last year though a Russian offensive over recent months has pushed most of Ukrainian forces out of Kursk.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly suggested that Russian forces carve out a buffer zone along the border.

Russia's defense ministry said that it had taken the village of Basivka, just over the border from Sudzha, and had struck Ukrainian forces at 12 other points in the Sumy region.

Ukrainian officials later denied the report, saying Russian forces were not in control of Basivka.

"As of today, the Russians do not control Basivka in Sumy region. They are trying to run in there in assault groups and look for cellars in order to gain a foothold, but the enemy is being destroyed," Andriy Kovalenko, an official of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said on Telegram messenger.

"The fighting in the Sumy region border area is complex and continues daily in several areas, and is also taking place in the Kursk border area," he added.

Russia's defense ministry also said that Russia had defeated Ukrainian units in the Russian settlements of Gornal, Guevo and Oleshnya.

The pro-Ukrainian DeepState war map shows Ukraine in control of about 63 square kilometers (24 square miles) of Russian territory, down from as much as 1,400 square kilometers claimed by Kyiv last year.

Another 81 square kilometers of territory along the border - including Basivka - is classed by DeepState as of "unknown" control.

Russia currently controls a little under one fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea which Russia annexed in 2014, and most but not all of four other regions which Moscow now claims are part of Russia - a claim not recognized by most countries.

Russia controls all of Crimea, almost all of Luhansk, and more than 70% of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, according to Russian estimates. It also controls a sliver of Kharkiv region.