Lech Wałęsa is in hospital due to COVID-19 infection. It's the second time Poland's former head of state has contracted the coronavirus disease. His secretary said Wałęsa was handling the situation like "an 80-year-old with COVID - it's hard for him".
Lech Wałęsa has been in a hospital in Gdańsk since Monday, after he felt worse at a spa in Ustka. It's the second time Poland's former president has gone down with COVID-19.
"Covid has hit me" - he wrote on Facebook.
"Under very good care"
The former president's secretary Marek Kaczmar confirmed Wałęsa was taken to a hospital. "We were in a spa in Ustka and the president felt worse," he said.
He added that Wałęsa had had high body temperature and decided to go back to Gdańsk. "The president is in a Gdańsk hospital under very good care,"
Asked how the former president was feeling, Kaczmar said that like "an 80-year-old with COVID - it's hard for him".
Lech Wałęsa turned 80 this year
Wałęsa turned 80 this year. The former leader of the Solidarity trade union was born on Sept. 29, 1943, in Popowo. His birthday celebrations coincided with another important jubilee - Oct. 5 marked 40 years since the former president received the Nobel Peace Prize.
"I sometimes wonder if we could have fought and won without the Nobel. I think not. We were losing strength at the time. This sailboat of ours was losing power and that (the Nobel Peace Prize) was the wind in our sails. There are plenty of electricians in the world, but not too many Nobel-winning electricians. The Nobel was an award for my effort, for the victory, and at the same time it encouraged me to continue my work and lead to the end of communism," Lech Wałęsa said on his 80th birthday.
To mark both anniversaries, the upper house of the Polish parliament - the Senate - adopted a special resolution paying tribute to Lech Wałęsa for his exceptional achievements.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, tvn24.pl, PAP
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: Lech Wałęsa/facebook