Poland’s Coronavirus Fight Exposes Healthcare Weaknesses

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But as Poland confirmed 150 cases of the virus on Monday morning, Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski said, "We must expect a four-digit number of people infected with coronavirus this week." 

An increasingly tired Szumowski has been giving daily press briefings, often accompanied by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and other ministers. Szumowski is now the second most-trusted politician in Poland after President Andrzej Duda, according to a recent poll. 

Poland has declared a state of "epidemiological emergency" but not yet a full state of emergency.

The government says it still plans to organise presidential elections as scheduled in May, and a recent poll shows that the health crisis has boosted the popularity of incumbent Duda, making him more likely to win in the first round. 

Despite a sense of decisive action by the government, doctors and experts across the country have raised questions about the state of the Polish healthcare system and its vulnerabilities to the pandemic, which has claimed more than 6,500 lives globally. 

Poland has declared a state of 'epidemiological emergency' but not yet a full state of emergency.

In recent years, Polish doctors have been at loggerheads with the government over health spending. Resident doctors even went on hunger strike in late 2017, demanding that a larger chunk of gross domestic product be put into the sector and calling for better pay and working conditions. 

"Health systems in Central Europe have been under pressure for some time, reflecting a combination of staff shortages...