For several days, we have been observing record-breaking daily increases in new coronavirus infections in Poland. Prof. Jerzy Duszyński, president of the Polish Academy of Sciences, head of the COVID-19 advisory team of the Polish Academy of Sciences believes that the real worsening of the epidemic is still ahead of us. – I think it will start in mid-September – he assessed in the TVN24 program “Fakty po Faktach”.
Where did the record number of infections come from?
July turned out to be the worst month in terms of the increase in SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infections since the beginning of the epidemic in Poland, while August 4 brought the largest jump in the number of new cases to date.
Many doctors and experts point out that the growing statistics are primarily the result of the loosening of Poles and selective adherence to recommendations. In addition, there is the holiday season and thus increased tourism.
- There have never been so many infections in one day. Where does this surge come from?
This aspect was also highlighted by the guest of the TVN24 program “Fakty po Faktach”, the president of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the head of the PAN advisory team for COVID-19, prof. Jerzy Duszyński. In his opinion, the moment we relaxed the limitations, we also lost the possibility of a very valuable experiment. – After all, we do not know what factors cause a huge increase in the number of cases and what are of marginal importance – he said.
– The record number of infections is obviously related to the fact that, for example, a huge number of Silesia’s inhabitants went to the seaside, and a huge number of Pomeranian inhabitants went to the mountains. These people will come back and then really – I’m talking about this bad scenario – the real worsening of the epidemic will begin. I think it will start in mid-September – assessed the president of the Polish Academy of Sciences. – We must be prepared for this – he emphasized.
“We must be prepared for bad scenarios”
Prof. Jerzy Duszyński drew attention to the problem that he observes in Polish society. On the one hand, we hear about disease records, thousands of COVID-19 deaths, an uncertain future.
- “Hospitals and clinics are overcrowded, hundreds of patients die at home or on the streets”
On the other hand, these catastrophic visions do not affect the lives of most of us, seeming distant. – In the life of the average Pole – most often – there are no people who have been knocked down by COVID, there are no people who have died from COVID. It seems that the two visions: global and local, are very divergent – he pointed out in “Fakty po Faktach”. They can be reconciled, “but you have to listen to the authorities” – emphasized the professor. In his opinion, there is a need for an institution whose statements (and its experts) would be listened to and accepted. In his opinion, there is no such expert group in Poland.
Hence the idea of establishing such a team at the Polish Academy of Sciences. – It is an eight-person team of the most outstanding specialists in many fields – explained Prof. Duszyński. It consists of: virologist, sociologist, modeling specialist, doctors, including the national consultant for infectious diseases.
– We don’t know what will happen in two months. But we must be prepared for the so-called bad scenarios – he emphasized on TVN24.
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