Polish Government Seeks Emergency Powers to Fight Coronavirus

(Bloomberg) -- Poland’s government proposed legislation to give itself sweeping powers in cases of national emergencies, such as a looming outbreak of the coronavirus.

The bill envisages giving more powers to the prime minister and his representatives in Poland’s 16 regions, which won’t be subject to the normal appeals process. It also lengthens quarantine periods to 21 from 14 days and prepares the ground for allowances for parents who need to take care of children if schools close.

Poland has no confirmed cases of the virus yet, but Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski said on Monday that infections are expected “soon.” The opposition has voiced concern that bill undermines due process, doesn’t clearly define what marks an emergency and how long the special rules can last.

A parliamentary committee has started working on the bill, which the lower house of parliament has fast-tracked and seeks to pass as soon as on Monday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Wojciech Moskwa in Warsaw at wmoskwa@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net, Piotr Bujnicki, Andrew Langley

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