According to scientists, restaurants, cafes and fitness clubs are the places where people stay for a long time in close contact and usually get infected. Those places are responsible for spreading the coronavirus. The complicated computer simulation was constructed by the University of Stanford’s team. Scientists constructed the model which precisely predicts the further expansion of the pandemic.
Scientists took into consideration over 98 million citizens of huge American cities and over 500 thousand visited places. They checked where people move during the day, how long they are and how much people are in the same place.
‘We developed a computer model to analyse how people of different demographical origin, who live in different districts, move during the day. We wanted to know what kind of places they visit and for how long. On that basis, we were able to predict the probability of new infections in a particular place and time’ – described one of the scientists prof. Jure Leskovec.
Scientists used anonymous data from mobile phones and demographic and epidemiological information. According to scientists, the simulation might be a crucial tool while making decisions.
The Russian General Prosecutor’s Office is demanding access to the information about the last conversation that took place between Lech and Jarosław Kaczyński on April 10, 2010. The Polish Ministry of Justice received a relevant request in this case.
The Russian investigators believe that the true circumstances of the Smoleńsk air disaster have already been established. Nevertheless, a record of a conversation that took place shortly before the tragedy remains an important element of the conducted proceedings. Russian TASS news agency informs that alleged new information spread in Polish media is the reason for sending the notice to the Polish Ministry of Justice. RIA Novosti claims an interview of the former judge Wojciech Łączewski with Gazeta Wyborcza is the main source for those rumours. Polish Prosecution denies the existence of neither a recording nor a transcription of such a conversation having taken place.
This will be our so-called a strategic reserve, Tobiasz Bocheński, voivode of Łódź said today, informing that the temporary hospital in the EXPO hall in Łódź is ready for launch. The cost of investment and equipment is PLN 15 million.
The hospital has 272 places for COVID-19 patients. “Of which 100 beds are ventilator places, including 15 beds of the so-called highest level of security,” the voivode informed. The facility was equipped with the most modern life-saving equipment and diagnostic equipment. All beds are monitored.
The hospital was built in such a way that – as the voivode said – after the epidemic ceases, everything can be transferred entirely to other medical units.
The marshal of the Łódź Province, Grzegorz Schreiber, congratulated the Łódź Province voivode “for building this hospital so efficiently and so quickly”. “Let’s hope that the disease will not progress in such a way that patients have to be admitted to this hospital. We are simply ready,” the marshal said.
‘I am surprised that President of the European Commission does not know the Treaties which regulate the European Commission’s work. These treaties prejudge that CJEU is not competent to assess the rule of law mechanisms’ – responded the Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro to Ursula von der Layen’s proposition.
The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Layen said on Wednesday in European Parliament that those countries which have doubts concerning the mechanism of the rule of law may express reservations to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). ‘There is a place where we clarify legal issues’ – said.
The Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro was asked during the press conference about Ursula von der Layen’s words.
‘I am surprised that President of the European Commission does not know the Treaties which regulate the European Commission’s work. These treaties prejudge that CJEU is not competent to assess the rule of law mechanisms. According to it, it is really interesting why this proposition is so demagogic. It seems to be evidence for working for bad faith’ – he assessed.
In his opinion, the President of the European Commission ‘wants to push solutions which she considers as lawlessness’. Moreover, the Minister of Justice wished the President had read the Treaties carefully’ and that she had shown respect to Treaties’.
Representatives of the Nationwide Women’s Strike organized a press conference at their headquarters in Warsaw, however, not all reporters were allowed to participate in the event. The leader of the Women’s Strike, Marta Lempart, decided not to allow inside the reporters from Telewizja Polska and Telewizja Republika, among others. As a result of a fight that broke out in front of the main entrance, one of the reporters was seriously wounded.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the press conference of the Nationwide Women’s Strike is taking place behind these doors. Unfortunately, our station was not allowed to participate in this conference. Reporters from other tv stations, including Polish Television and Trwam Television, weren’t allowed inside either. We didn’t receive any response to our question why we cannot participate in this conference. Nor did we receive any response to other questions regarding the Nationwide Women’s Strike and the money they collected during different fundraisers. On their website, representatives of the Nationwide Women’s Strike have announced that the money collected during fundraisers will be allocated to the needs of the strike. Today, we wanted to participate in the conference, just like many other reporters. One of the reporters of Gazeta Polska has been pushed out of the door. Marta Lempart, leader of the Women’s Strike called the police.” said our reporter Ilona Januszewska at the Women’s Strike headquarters.
The mechanism concerning the rule of law is an obvious attempt to break the original EU law, to break the Treaty about European Union – said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zbigniew Rau. He emphasised the unambiguous objection to the proposed mechanism.
Editor Kania started an interview by saying about ‘polexit’. ‘European Union does not let it go. There is a meeting scheduled for tomorrow. We have the veto and the Polish oppositions threaten with polexit’. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau pointed out that ‘polexit’ is an absolute nonsense’. The Minister was a guest of Polish Radio 24.
Zbigniew Rau also admitted that ‘the opposition got hysterical about the veto’. ‘It is an authorized element of negotiations on EU issues’.
‘We can compare this institution to the emergency brake in a railway carriage. When there is a real threat to basic interests, passengers, travellers, then it is natural to reach for the emergency brake. We have this situation now’ – explained Rau.
‘If we talk about the EU’s common welfare, the mechanism concerning the rule of law is an obvious attempt to break the original EU law, to break the Treaty about European Union’ – ensured the Minister while pinpointing ‘the exemption provided for the Article 7 from the Treaty in a Regulation’.
Member States have not reached the unanimity concerning the EU budget and COVID-19 recovery fund on Monday, 16 Nov 2020. Poland and Hungary vetoed the budget because of the proposed mechanism concerning the rule of law.
“We consider the Warka discovery as extremely important for the strategic expansion of our gas production operations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.” commented Paweł Majewski, the President of the PGNiG Management Board. The PGNiG group also boosted its output on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and confirmed the results of the exploration well at the Alve Nord East prospect.
The Warka prospect was first identified by PGNiG Upstream Norway in 2015 and jointly evaluated with ConocoPhillips, resulting in a mutual application in APA 2018, including a firm well commitment. PL1009 was awarded in 2019 and the prospect was approved for drilling in 2020, followed by the drilling operations which commenced in August 2020.
“We consider the Warka discovery as extremely important for the strategic expansion of our gas production operations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. We seek to ensure that the largest possible volumes of our own gas are brought from Norway to Poland via the Baltic Pipe. The new gas discovery takes us a step closer to achieving that goal,” commented Paweł Majewski, President of the PGNiG Management Board.
“I extend my gratitude to our specialists at PGNiG Upstream Norway. This success marks the culmination of their hard work as a team and is owed to their experience gained on the shelf,” Mr Majewski added.
The new Warka discovery is located south-west of the Skarv and Ærfugl fields, in the central part of the Norwegian Sea, approximately 240 km north-west of the coast of Norway. Water depth is approximately 400 m. The exploration well which discovered the Warka field was drilled to a depth of 4,985 m below the sea level by the Leiv Eiriksson drilling rig.
The confirmed presence of natural gas accumulation in the Warka prospect is another success recently reported by PGNiG Upstream Norway. In 2019, the company made an oil and gas discovery named Shrek in licence PL838. The field is being prepared for development using Skarv’s production infrastructure.
PGNiG Upstream Norway and its licence partners have brought on stream another three wells in the Ærfugl field. This will enable the company to increase its total output of natural gas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to almost 1 bcm in 2021.
“The new wells in the Ærfugl field were commissioned according to the schedule, despite the difficulties caused by the coronavirus epidemic. Their launch will not only significantly increase the PGNiG Group’s natural gas output in Norway, but will also have a very favourable effect on the financial performance of PUN. Ærfugl is one of the most profitable projects on the entire Norwegian Continental Shelf,” said Paweł Majewski, thesole owner of PUN.
The Ærfugl field development plan envisages drilling six production wells in two phases, three in each phase. In April 2020, the first well from Phase 2 was brought on stream. The other two will be commissioned in 2021 – two years ahead of the original schedule. Once the entire licence development plan has been completed, Ærfugl’s annual gas output attributable to PGNiG’s Norwegian subsidiary will be 0.5 bcm in the peak period. The fuel will be transported to Poland via the Baltic Pipe, currently under construction.
PGNiG Upstream Norway (PUN), PGNiG S.A.’s subsidiary, in partnership with the operator Aker BP ASA, have also completed the drilling of an exploration well in the Alve Nord East prospect, approximately 7 km north east of Alve Nord, an undeveloped gas field.
The well on the Alve Nord East prospect was drilled using Deepsea Nordkapp, a 6th generation semi-submersible drilling platform. Water depth at the drilling location is 362 metres. Extensive data acquisition has been carried out in the well, and gas and oil samples have been taken for analysis. Based on the results, the partners will assess the discovery and decide on further steps.
Currently, PUN holds interests in 32 licences on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (the acquisition of interests in four licences is awaiting approval by the Norwegian authorities). The company produces crude oil and natural gas from seven fields and is involved in development projects on another five.
“We consider the Warka discovery as extremely important for the strategic expansion of our gas production operations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.” commented Paweł Majewski, the President of the PGNiG Management Board. The PGNiG group also boosted its output on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and confirmed the results of the exploration well at the Alve Nord East prospect.
The Warka prospect was first identified by PGNiG Upstream Norway in 2015 and jointly evaluated with ConocoPhillips, resulting in a mutual application in APA 2018, including a firm well commitment. PL1009 was awarded in 2019 and the prospect was approved for drilling in 2020, followed by the drilling operations which commenced in August 2020.
“We consider the Warka discovery as extremely important for the strategic expansion of our gas production operations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. We seek to ensure that the largest possible volumes of our own gas are brought from Norway to Poland via the Baltic Pipe. The new gas discovery takes us a step closer to achieving that goal,” commented Paweł Majewski, President of the PGNiG Management Board.
“I extend my gratitude to our specialists at PGNiG Upstream Norway. This success marks the culmination of their hard work as a team and is owed to their experience gained on the shelf,” Mr Majewski added.
The new Warka discovery is located south-west of the Skarv and Ærfugl fields, in the central part of the Norwegian Sea, approximately 240 km north-west of the coast of Norway. Water depth is approximately 400 m. The exploration well which discovered the Warka field was drilled to a depth of 4,985 m below the sea level by the Leiv Eiriksson drilling rig.
The confirmed presence of natural gas accumulation in the Warka prospect is another success recently reported by PGNiG Upstream Norway. In 2019, the company made an oil and gas discovery named Shrek in licence PL838. The field is being prepared for development using Skarv’s production infrastructure.
PGNiG Upstream Norway and its licence partners have brought on stream another three wells in the Ærfugl field. This will enable the company to increase its total output of natural gas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to almost 1 bcm in 2021.
“The new wells in the Ærfugl field were commissioned according to the schedule, despite the difficulties caused by the coronavirus epidemic. Their launch will not only significantly increase the PGNiG Group’s natural gas output in Norway, but will also have a very favourable effect on the financial performance of PUN. Ærfugl is one of the most profitable projects on the entire Norwegian Continental Shelf,” said Paweł Majewski, thesole owner of PUN.
The Ærfugl field development plan envisages drilling six production wells in two phases, three in each phase. In April 2020, the first well from Phase 2 was brought on stream. The other two will be commissioned in 2021 – two years ahead of the original schedule. Once the entire licence development plan has been completed, Ærfugl’s annual gas output attributable to PGNiG’s Norwegian subsidiary will be 0.5 bcm in the peak period. The fuel will be transported to Poland via the Baltic Pipe, currently under construction.
PGNiG Upstream Norway (PUN), PGNiG S.A.’s subsidiary, in partnership with the operator Aker BP ASA, have also completed the drilling of an exploration well in the Alve Nord East prospect, approximately 7 km north east of Alve Nord, an undeveloped gas field.
The well on the Alve Nord East prospect was drilled using Deepsea Nordkapp, a 6th generation semi-submersible drilling platform. Water depth at the drilling location is 362 metres. Extensive data acquisition has been carried out in the well, and gas and oil samples have been taken for analysis. Based on the results, the partners will assess the discovery and decide on further steps.
Currently, PUN holds interests in 32 licences on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (the acquisition of interests in four licences is awaiting approval by the Norwegian authorities). The company produces crude oil and natural gas from seven fields and is involved in development projects on another five.
On Saturday, the Minister of Health announced screenings in three voivodeships – Silesia, Malopolska and Podkarpackie. How will the screenings look like? The Minister of Health emphasised that he would decide in that week. ‘We have two ideas about it’ – said Adam Niedzielski.
Today (23 Nov 2020) on the air of RMF FM radio, the Minister of Health Adam Niedzielski said that in that week, after talks with epidemiologists, he would decide whether the screening would be compulsory or optional.
‘I have two ideas about it. In one of it, we will give family doctors the authority to make such tests. In this model, anyone willing to have a test will be able to come and do it. The second option will exploit the drive-thru in these regions and referral would be delivered by messages’ – said Niedzielski.
‘In the second option, screenings will be compulsory’ – added.
The Minister of Health was also asked when the screenings might be started. He said that in the case of the first option, screenings would start in one, two weeks because they would have to organize it, but in the first option, tests could start immediately.
Niedzielski confirmed that screenings would be made by antigenic tests, which give the result in 15 minutes. ‘We know that there is an error margin and because of that we have this week to discuss the situation’ – he explained.
Justice Minister and Polish Prosecutor General, Zbigniew Ziobro has clearly indicated that making the names and addresses of policemen public is a crime. The politician instructed the Warsaw District Prosecutor’s Office to initiate proceedings in cases of such breaches. The decision comes in the wake of pro-abortion protests across the country.
Subsequent protests related to last month’s ruling of the Constitutional Court on the anti-abortion regulations were held on Wednesday in Warsaw. Police officers used telescopic batons and pepper spray.
On Thursday and Friday, the images and data of police officers who took part in securing the demonstrations during the illegal women’s strike were published in social media.
“… The member of parliament seen in the video, after obtaining the name of the policeman, passes it on to the protesters. The officer’s wife has already started to receive hateful messages on her private Facebook profile.” tweeted the Polish Police.
“Beautiful manipulation of the Police. Why did you omit the part that happened before and the reason why I asked for the officer’s name? Fortunately, TVN24 recorded it, while I managed to record the rest. Your officer hit and pushed a girl over a moment earlier. I demand an apology, and if you won’t make one, we will meet in court.” Joanna Sheuring-Wielgus, an MP of the Left, responded on Twitter.
The Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro is initiating criminal proceedings. The General Prosecutor also assures that guaranteeing police safety is crucial.
“The Polish State has a duty to protect the police. That is why I instructed the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw to initiate criminal proceedings against all persons who made the names and addresses of the officers public. Freedom is responsibility.” stated Zbigniew Ziobro, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
On Friday, a spokesman for the Police Headquarters, Inspector Mariusz Ciarka, assured that “the police acts transparently and always emphasizes that anyone who feels wronged has the right to lodge a complaint or notice to the prosecutor’s office. This is the right of every citizen.” he said.