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.



US and Russia Swap Prisoners

Russian-American dual citizen Ksenia Karelina, accused of treason for making a donation to a charity supporting Ukraine, attends a court hearing in Yekaterinburg, Russia August 15, 2024. REUTERS/Dmitry Chasovitin/
Russian-American dual citizen Ksenia Karelina, accused of treason for making a donation to a charity supporting Ukraine, attends a court hearing in Yekaterinburg, Russia August 15, 2024. REUTERS/Dmitry Chasovitin/
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US and Russia Swap Prisoners

Russian-American dual citizen Ksenia Karelina, accused of treason for making a donation to a charity supporting Ukraine, attends a court hearing in Yekaterinburg, Russia August 15, 2024. REUTERS/Dmitry Chasovitin/
Russian-American dual citizen Ksenia Karelina, accused of treason for making a donation to a charity supporting Ukraine, attends a court hearing in Yekaterinburg, Russia August 15, 2024. REUTERS/Dmitry Chasovitin/

Russia released a dual Russian-US citizen jailed for donating to a charity providing aid to Ukraine, her lawyer said on Thursday, in what the Wall Street Journal described as a swap for a Russian-German national jailed in the United States.

A lawyer for Ksenia Karelina, who was found guilty last year of treason by a Russian court for donating money to a US-based charity providing humanitarian support to Ukraine, told Reuters she was on her way back to the United States.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe and a senior Russian intelligence official conducted talks for the swap in Abu Dhabi, according to a CIA official quoted by the Journal.

"Today, President Trump brought home another wrongfully detained American from Russia," Ratcliffe said in a statement to the Journal.

Karelina left for the US on a plane from Abu Dhabi on Thursday morning, her Russian lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, said.

She was swapped for Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen, who was arrested in 2023 in Cyprus at the request of the US for allegedly exporting sensitive microelectronics.

The US Justice Department said last year that Petrov had participated in a scheme to procure US-sourced microelectronics for manufacturers supplying weaponry and other equipment to the Russian military.