In order to ensure the safety of our beneficiaries and all who contact NAWA, we wish to remind you of the key rules during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each day, the Ministry of Health publishes the number of new coronavirus cases. Other countries around the world do the same. Scientists in research labs continue to work towards developing methods to reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus, to treat patients and to invent a vaccine. Yet as long as the pandemic lasts, it is crucial to remember the recommended safety rules, to observe the rules of behaviour that are introduced and to follow the news related to the epidemic.

In order to ensure the safety of our beneficiaries and all who contact NAWA, we wish to remind you:

How does NAWA work during the epidemic?

All programme contact persons and NAWA staff are available per phone and email within the Agency’s working hours. Face-to-face meetings have been limited. We recommend dealing with matters remotly. 

Upon entering NAWA premises, you are obliged to wear a face covering and to disinfect your hands. Documents brought personally for certification should be submitted in a paper envelope or file.

Where to find information about changes in programmes, scholarships and NAWA offer?

We announce all changes to programmes resulting from pandemic-related restrictions at our website on an ongoing basis. We encourage you to visit our website regularly and to follow the information in the section ‘Important information. COVID-19.’ You will find there announcements concerning programmes for students, scientists and higher education and scientific institutions as well as announcements of other institutions.

NAWA’s main activities are also announced by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in the special section titled ‘Science against COVID-19.’ (Polish language)

Where to look for information about the functioning of universities and scientific institutions during the epidemic?

The page ‘Coronavirus – information and recommendations’ (Polish language) is a collection of information for universities and research institutes about the recommendations and measures of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. You can find here, among others, recommendations with regard to the organisation of the academic year, lab classes and professional traineeships or the functioning of student dorms. 

Another important source of information is the homepage of the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland, where you can find, among other things, ‘CRASP’s Recommendations for University Authorities.’ (Polish language)

What are the basic safety rules and where to find relevant information?

Washing and disinfecting hands, wearing face coverings in designated areas, and keeping a distance – those are the basic principles that we have to follow in order to limit the transmission of the virus.

You should look for information about new recommendations and restrictions resulting from the state of epidemic from proven, reliable sources. Among them are the websites of the Ministry of Health and the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate. These two institutions provide information related to COVID-19 on an ongoing basis.

Furthermore, important news concerning the current recommendations and restrictions are provided on the government website www.gov.pl. This is where you can find e.g. the list of infections, the list of isolation hospitals and the list of districts that have been assigned to areas with new safety rules, the so called yellow or red zone. HERE

Where to go in the case of symptoms of COVID-19 infection?

Body temperature above 38 degrees Celsius, cough, difficulty breathing and loss of the sense of smell or taste are the four most common symptoms characteristic for COVID-19. According to the new recommendations of the Ministry of Health, a patient with such symptoms should have a phone consultation with their GP, who will refer them to a test via the gabinet.gov.pl application. The GP informs the patient of mobile test sites, so called drive-through test centres, where they can have a test (the GP informs the patient of the need to avoid public transport).

Then, the GP notifies the District Sanitary and Epidemiological Station of a suspected SARS-COV-2 infection by filling out a relevant form in their medical practice software or in the gabinet.gov.pl application.

If the condition of the patient allows it, they travel to the drive through site by car on their own in order to have a test. The list of drive through centres is available HERE .(Polish language)

When going to a drive through testing site, the patient has to present an identity document with a photograph and to provide their Civil Registration Number PESEL. Once in the centre, they do not leave the car. The epipharynx smear is collected through an open car window. The test is free of charge. 

The smear is analysed in a COVID lab. The test results are entered into the system. They can be accessed by the GP through the gabinet.gov.pl app, by the patient through the Online Patient Account and by the Regional and District Sanitary and Epidemiological Stations through the EWP system.

If the patient tests positive, they will be notified by the GP and informed of the need to go to an isolation or low dependency and isolation hospital ward. In addition, the GP notifies a hospital with an isolation ward of the referral of a patient with confirmed COVID-19.

At the hospital, it is decided whether to: 

• admit the patient to the hospital, 
• isolate the patient in an isolation unit (isolation units are dedicated among others to patients who cannot be quarantined at home, because they would threat to infect their family), 
• or isolate the patient at their home.

If the patient is unable to go to a testing site on their own, their GP will contact the Regional Sanitary and Epidemiological Station (WSSE) by phone and inform it of the need to perform a test. The WSSE issues a request for a test and sends to the patient an ambulance dedicated to doing smear tests. If the patient tests positive, they will be notified by the GP and informed of the need to go to an isolation or low dependency and isolation hospital ward. At the hospital, it is decided whether to: 

• admit the patient to the hospital, 
• isolate the patient in an isolation unit, 
• or isolate the patient at their home.

The procedures in the event of a suspected COVID-19 infection are described on the website of the Ministry of Health HERE.(Polish language)

We encourage you to follow information on the websites of NAWA, the Polish Ministry of Health and the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate.