"Situation isn’t yet under control"

Professor Pawlaczyk deserves congratulations on his outstanding work, however, he himself is rather cautious and focused on what still awaits not what has already been achieved. In addition, Lech’s Head of Medical Staff doesn’t agree with the saying that 'the worst is already behind us' – not only in the context of the pandemic but also its impact on PKO Ekstraklasa. “It might all deteriorate in 2021,” warns the Professor. “Situation isn’t yet under control. Of course, we have much better tools to fight the virus. Still, the virus itself has become stronger because there is now a new mutation that is far more infectious and which can lead to more people getting ill. Right now, there are no guarantees that people who have been infected in the first phase are immune to the new mutation of the virus. Therefore, I prefer to observe the situation. Not once nor twice were we surprised by the pandemic, hence there is no way to predict what is going to happen next. The pandemic might end in May but it’s just as likely that it is going to continue for the next two years,” added Professor Pawlaczyk.

The vaccines, which have already been delivered to Poland and distributed across the country, bring hope to a lot of people.

“The vaccines are crucial in the fight with the virus. It’s the only way to achieve herd immunity. Some people are spreading information about the vaccines being dangerous but it’s pure nonsense. Everywhere you go, there are people like that. If the fans want to return to the stadiums, instead of getting involved in silly, futile debates, they should simply state firmly: “we’re going to get vaccinated””, said Pawlaczyk.

Of course, the best option would be for all league players to get vaccinated as soon as possible. However, it’s not going to happen anytime soon. “If someone expects the teams to be vaccinated within the next few weeks and that, as a result, the league will no longer be affected by the pandemic restrictions, then they might be disappointed. Players aren’t healthcare workers nor doctors, neither are they in the category of people with a high risk of being infected, therefore we will have to wait for the vaccines to become available to us. I don’t think that’s going to happen in January, February nor March… It will be much later than that,” believes the Head of Medical Staff.

A lot of Polish clubs have been affected by the pandemic. When it comes to Lech, apart from a few individual cases, the team and the coaching staff have managed to stay healthy and safe. Detailed surveys, which were filled out by coaches and footballers honestly and carefully, were crucial in keeping the infections down to a minimum and isolating the affected individuals at an early stage. “At 7:30 PM everyone, from Chairman, through players, press department, all the way to physios received a reminder to submit a survey. Whenever there was an infection in the club, the dressing rooms were closed, the players were divided into a few separate rooms and asked to get dressed and shower at home and only come to the stadium for training sessions. As a result, we managed to keep the infections under control and stop them from spreading,” explained the Professor whilst also complimenting other league teams. “We have achieved a similar safety level to, for instance, Bundesliga, with much smaller financial input. Our emphasis was on observations and making all people working at the club feel responsible. We simply adjusted the protocol to our own needs and capabilities.”

Lastly, Lech’s Head of Medical Staff decided to summarise 2020. “I think that overall, it turned out to be alright and last season, in my opinion, was somewhat of a miracle. Between April 20^th and July 20^th, we had 5 infections only. It’s unbelievable! I believe that strictly regulated lockdown, which was put in place in March, was the key to the season being completed since it helped minimise the risk of players getting infected,” added the Professor.