WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s former health minister, who had become synonymous with the country’s fight against COVID-19 before his resignation last month, has tested positive for the disease, website Onet.pl said on Monday, as daily infections hover near record levels.
Lukasz Szumowski was rated Poland’s most trusted politician at the height of the national lockdown in April. He resigned in August after scandals surrounding the purchase of ventilators and masks dented his reputation. He denies any wrongdoing.
Szumowski could not immediately be reached on Monday to confirm the Onet.pl report, which said that members of his family had also been infected. The health ministry declined to comment on the report.
Poland weathered the first wave of COVID-19 infections that swept Europe in the spring relatively well but is now battling a second wave. It reported 1,587 new cases on Friday, the biggest daily tally since the pandemic arrived in March.
In total, the country of 38 million people has reported 88,636 cases of COVID-19, including 2,447 deaths.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Gareth Jones)
