Poland lifts all but basic coronavirus restrictions – POLITICO Europe

Poland will remove most coronavirus restrictions from the start of next month, the government said Wednesday, citing rapidly falling numbers of new cases and patients in hospital.

Kicking in from March 1, there will be no limits on the number of customers in stores, restaurants, cultural venues and public transport. Entertainment venues like discos and nightclubs will reopen as well.

Unfortunately, [this] chapter of the pandemic is not closed yet. But we can see that the Omicron variants mortality and hospitalizations are much lower, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a press conference, as Warsaw followed similar easing moves by other European countries in response to the relatively mild impact of the latest viral variant.

Poland recorded 20,456 new coronavirus cases in the 24 hours to Wednesday morning, a drop of 29 percent from a week earlier. The number of fatal cases, at 360, down 4 percent on the week.

Basic restrictions remain in force, Morawiecki said, encouraging those who have not been vaccinated yet to get a jab. Poland has so far vaccinated nearly 67% of adult population, according to latest data from the ministry of health.

Poles will still have to wear facemasks in indoor spaces as well as on public transport. Anyone with a confirmed infection will need to isolate for a week. Quarantine for people living with an infected person is also a week long unless they are vaccinated.

A weeklong quarantine has also been retained for people arriving in Poland from the Schengen visa-free travel zone unless they hold a valid vaccination certificate, are recovered from COVID-19, or produce a negative test not older than 48 hours. All visitors from outside of the Schengen area must take a test up to 24 hours before arrival or go into quarantine for a week. Testing is obligatory even for those vaccinated and those who recovered from COVID-19.

Read the original:

Poland lifts all but basic coronavirus restrictions - POLITICO Europe