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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 12 January 2022

Poland hits milestone of 100,000 deaths from COVID-19

By VANESSA GERA peak in what officials call working doctors in propor-
Associated Press the country's "fourth wave" tion to its population — just
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — of COVID-19 driven by the 2.4 to 1,000 inhabitants
Poland has become the delta variant. But with the compared with 4.5 in Ger-
latest European nation to omicron variant spread- many. Poland also has only
reach the sad milestone of ing, another large infection 5 nurses to 1,000 inhabit-
100,000 deaths related to wave is looming. The first ants, below the EU average
the coronavirus. two deaths from omicron of 8 and far below richer
Nearly a quarter of those were reported Monday, countries like Germany,
deaths — some 24,000 — both in elderly and unvac- which has 14.
occurred in the most re- cinated people. Niedzielski The vast majority of CO-
cent wave of infection that said over 18,000 COVID-19 VID-19 deaths in the last
began in October, a peri- patients are hospitalized, wave — 83% — are of
od in which vaccines have making this "the most diffi- unvaccinated people.
been widely available in cult situation compared to Among people under 44,
the European Union nation other waves." more than 90% of those Associated Press
of 38 million people. Poland has struggled who died were not vac-
Health Minister Adam through the pandemic cinated. The vaccination has sought to encourage loyalist in the province sur-
Niedzielski said Tuesday with a health care sector rate in Poland is nearly 56% vaccinations but is also up rounding Krakow, Barbara
that 493 more people with strapped by limited fund- — a much lower rate than against fears and hesitancy Nowak, said she opposed
COVID-19 had died, push- ing and the emigration of in the countries of western among some in the popu- making vaccines compul-
ing the overall pandemic many medical profession- Europe but much higher lation — and sometimes sory for teachers, an idea
death toll to 100,254 in the als to Western Europe in the than some other central among the governing Law supported by the health
central European nation. past two decades. European countries, like and Justice party's own minister. She claimed that
The bleak marker comes According to OECD statis- Bulgaria and Romania. supporters. "the consequences of this
as daily new infections tics, Poland is the EU nation Prime Minister Mateusz In recent days, a school experiment are not fully
have fallen following a with the lowest number of Morawiecki's government superintendent and party established."q
Romania pushes to add climate

change education in schools

By STEPHEN McGRATH ronmental 'mini inspectors,' welcomed the report and
Associated Press supporting nature-based said it's of "utmost neces-
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) activities, and creating dig- sity." "Our generation has
— Romania's president ital learning materials on failed to save the climate
wants to add sections on climate change. but at least we can give the
climate change and en- Longer-term goals in the next one a chance to fight
vironmental issues to the report include improving with the best available tool
national school curriculum the sustainability of school — which is education," he
to enable students to learn infrastructure and cutting told The Associated Press.
more about the challenges schools' carbon footprints He said Romanian politi-
the world faces from cli- in half by 2030. cians now "lack ambition"
mate change. "Education is one of the in efforts to tackle climate
President Klaus Iohannis on pillars of improving the re- change. According to the
Tuesday launched a public sponse to climate change, European Commission, 41%
debate over a 141-page as education leads to of Romania's Recovery and
proposal and attended a changes in human behav- Resilience Plan funds from
meeting at the presiden- ior, in the sense of a greater the EU — 29.2 billion euros
tial palace on it with Prime responsibility to protect na- ($33.1 billion) — are allo-
Minister Nicolae Cuica, Ro- ture and the future of so- cated to "measures that
mania's environment and ciety as a whole," Iohannis support the green transi-
education ministers, teach- said Tuesday. tion," including phasing out
ers, students and nongov- "What we want more than coal power over the next
ernmental organizations. anything else is to pave the decade. "Even though we
The report suggests increas- way for a change of mind- still have a long way to go
ing the amount of climate set … we all want a clean, in the public consultation
change and environmen- waste-free environment," process ... the report pre-
tal education that students he added. Gabriel Paun, sented today allows us to
receive, creating a nation- president of the environ- start preparing now," said
al network of 10,000 envi- mental group Agent Green, Cucia, the prime minister.q