Things will never be the same again. It’s the first such big epidemic in 100 years. It will remain in our consciousness. Our habits, our behavior will change. But it is difficult to predict exactly what life after the coronavirus will look like

— said Prof. Łukasz Szumowski, the Minister of Health, in the new edition of the weekly ‘Sieci’.

Dorota Łosiewicz talks with Prof. Łukasz Szumowski about the current situation related to the coronavirus epidemic. The Minister of Health answers the fundamental question of whether Poland will succeed:

There is a serious fight ahead of us. It will require great effort to win the battle. Also from individual citizens, for whom the restrictions and regulations introduced to stop the spread of coronavirus are very painful. The financial and economic consequences for all will be severely felt. I do realize that there are many human tragedies, especially among people who have worked on so-called junk contracts and have been left without income overnight. The huge economic package that the Prime Minister has announced is supposed to help, but we are not able to eliminate all the effects of the pandemic.

Professor Szumowski indicates:

The worst-case scenario is being observed in Italy, and also in Spain. And such a scenario may unfortunately affect every country […]. The mortality rate in the elderly is 10 percent, which means that our parents, our grandparents are very much at risk and our role is to protect them through isolation. […] We do everything we can to stop the spread of the virus. This is what all our [government’s] actions so far have been aiming at.

Łukasz Szumowski also indicates what, in his opinion, are the reasons why other countries do not take effective action:

I think that the reluctance to introduce restrictions is a result of politicians’ concerns about the price of the radical actions we have taken. We had a long talk with the Prime Minister, the President, and our government colleagues and together we came to the conclusion that we value human life and health higher than economic results. We will pay the economic cost, but we are saving lives.

The Minister of Health also describes what the European Union’s aid looks like:

We hear about billions for Poland to fight the coronavirus, but this is not extra money at all; it is just consent to use the money that has already been allocated in another way. The EU has not provided any additional funds for the fight against the epidemic; it has only made the ways of spending the money more flexible. The largest amount of money goes from the state budget.

Prof. Szumowski also stresses the importance of social responsibility:

If we want to slow down the spread of the virus, then responsible behaviour, namely staying at home, may save the lives of others, probably weaker than us, elderly and ill. We have to stop the sudden wave of patients coming to hospitals.

Tłum. K.J.