Polish senator resigns due to pandemic

Prominent Polish senator Stanisław Karczewski said Wednesday he was resigning from his role as a Deputy Speaker of the country's upper house of parliament.

His decision was dictated by Senate Speaker Tomasz Grodzki's position that forbids combining the function of deputy speaker of the upper house with pursuing a medical career, he told the private radio broadcaster RMF FM on Wednesday.

He added that he does not intend to withdraw from politics and will continue to be a senator but wants to return to his profession, "and this is most important for him."

He also said that the ruling  Law and Justice party has recommended Marek Pek, to replace him in the post of deputy Senate speaker.

Poland now has 17,062 confirmed coronavirus cases and 847 deaths. On Tuesday, the country saw its largest spike in new coronavirus cases in one day due to rapid growth in infections among coal miners.

The country closed its borders to foreigners in March to stop the spread of the coronavirus and has extended the restriction four times since then.