Poland coal mines closed over miner virus cases

Polish authorities on Monday ordered 12 coal mines to close for three weeks after hundreds of workers were infected with the new coronavirus. The order comes after a further 500 virus cases were identified among staff at the Zofiowka mine in the south of the country. The 12 mines are set to close on Tuesday (June 9), and miners have been promised full pay during the shutdown. Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin said all workers at the affected mines would need to be tested.

In Jastrzebie-Zdroj in Silesia, miners report to drive-through checkpoints where genetic samples are taken from them. According to the authorities, the virus hotbeds are limited to the coal mines, while general infection figures among the wider population in Silesia were at similar levels to the rest of Poland. In Poland the number of daily tests has increased to 20,000, but it remains one of the lowest figures per million inhabitants in the EU.