M. Karnowski: The Prime Minister convinced the Poles, because he answered the fundamental question: “what has been done to get ready for the second wave?”

The political debate that broke out after the second wave of the epidemic raised one fundamental question: did the government make good use of the summer months when the epidemic was easing or did it waste the chance?

For it is clear to everyone that those in power may be mistaken in some decision, because there is no one who would know everything about COVID-19. It is evident that the Prime Minister must balance the restrictions on the health front with the need to defend our economic interests. It is even acceptable, somehow, that it was necessary to go through political tensions within the United Right. Such is the politics, crises usually erupt when they are least wanted.

However, no one would forgive the government if it turned out that, meanwhile, the necessary preparations were not made before the autumn.

That is why the Prime Minister’s speech today and the following debate were awaited with great interest. In my opinion, the Head of Government has passed this test convincingly presenting the government’s actions and answering the question “What have we done so far?”. I have listed the most important points:

We have made huge purchases. In the Stock Reserve Agency alone, there are several million masks, half a billion gloves and many other items of equipment. (…) We have also increased our testing capacity. We have moved out of the original point of 4 000 a day and are now able to do 80 000 a day. (…) It was the Civic Platform that dismantled 30 laboratories in the Sanitary Service between 2010 and 2015. We stopped this process

—said Morawiecki.

Next, we have increased the number of beds from 6 000 to 16 000. We have been buying equipment that provides treatment for the most severe coronavirus patients. We bought so many ventilators that we increased the number of ventilator beds between August and today by three and a half times. We have 2500 ventilators in the reserves, which are ready to be connected to hospital beds. All hospitals (…) anyone who needs a ventilator will get one. We have almost 3000 free ventilators. It is a result of strategic thinking in summer months.

Approximately 60% of the beds are occupied as of today. This is a large percentage, but we are constantly increasing the bed base. (…) Today it is 16-17 thousand beds. There are 15 thousand more beds.

In addition, the construction of provisional hospitals; they are not built outdoors nor on the pitch of the stadium.

First pictures of the construction of the hospital at the National Stadium! The first pictures from the construction of the hospital at the National Stadium

It is equally important to set out clear priorities: health care, the fight for the economy, protection of the elderly. People need to understand what the government is driven by, what philosophy and data are behind their decisions.

Analysing the experiences of other countries, including the failure of the strategy of building ‘herd immunity’ by infecting everyone.

Rejecting extremes: „false anti-mask apostles” and supporters of the total freezing of social life.

Finally - knockout for the opposition - a reminder of the assurances of its leader Boris Budka about the autumn end of the epidemic. Indeed, Mr Budka intended the presidential elections to be held right now.

The head of government concluded with an appeal calling for new solidarity between the Poles. It will be necessary. But is it possible? I very much doubt it. The Platforma-Michnik-Mosbacher opposition has chosen the path of a cynical game for the defeat of Poles and the government in the face of the epidemic. They announced the so-called ‘corona disaster’ a week ago. The Confederation depends on the selfishness and naivety of younger and richer social groups. The left wing is torn between rationality and the outcries of its leaders.

But the truth is that either the government and the Poles themselves will cope with this autumn and the coming winter, or else things will go wrong.