Regulatory changes: mandatory testing for COVID-19 sufferers’ household members and vaccinations for three occupational groups

The Minister of Health has announced new measures to combat the pandemic and tighten restrictions. These include mandatory testing for household members of people with COVID-19, regardless of their covid certification, mandatory vaccination for three occupational groups, and the right to check coronavirus tests by employers.

The latest steps to battle the pandemic, according to Health Minister Adam Niedzielski, would focus on three areas:

• Employers with the right to expect an employee to show a test result. This is a bill the Ministry is working on with PiS (Law and Justice) – these will be quick antigen tests, for free. The employees will be able to sign up for the free test via a form, which the ministry promised to introduce on its website. The minister stressed that in this case there will be no obligation to serve the default quarantine, as is the case with a referral by a doctor. Before the law enters into force, the rules for verifying vaccination certificates are still to be regulated.
• Compulsory vaccination for three professional groups – medics, teachers and uniformed services. The obligation should come into force on 1 March. The spokesman for the Ministry of Health, Wojciech Andrusiewicz, clarified that these vaccinations are mandatory, not compulsory – “mandatory” is a strictly legal term that is associated with certain legal consequences.
• Tightening of restrictions from 15 December – where today the 50% limits are in force, the 30% limit will come into force. This applies to restaurants, hotels, bars, cinemas and theaters. Abolition of this limit as before can only apply for vaccinated people, verified by the entrepreneur. In cinemas, there is an additional ban on consumption. On New Year’s Eve, however, will be possible to organize parties up to 100 people. Also, from 15 December discos, clubs, and facilities providing places to dance will be closed.

In addition, the deputy head of the Ministry of Health Waldemar Kraska informed that from  15 December there will be mandatory testing for COVID-19 sufferers’ household members, regardless of their covid certificate.

In Poland, 28,542 coronavirus infections have been recorded in the last 24 hours. According to a report released by the Health Ministry on Wednesday, another 592 individuals have perished. The number of deaths in Poland during the fourth wave of the epidemic has reached a record high. There are 23 453 patients in the hospital, with 2026 of them on ventilators.