Poland accelerates timetable for removing Covid restrictions

The Polish government has announced an acceleration of its timetable for removing coronavirus restrictions, as it had pledged to do earlier this week if infection numbers continued to fall. They are currently at their lowest level since October.

In accordance with the previously announced schedule, the first three years of primary school have already returned to in-person learning; art galleries, museums and hotels have reopened; and limits on religious attendance have been loosened.

Events (such as weddings and first communions) were also allowed to resume on 8 May, earlier than planned. The new timetable announced today sees cinemas and theatres reopening a week earlier than scheduled, while some other changes, including the resumption of indoor dining, have been moved forward by a day.

15 May

• Obligation to wear masks in outdoor public spaces lifted (for more details, see here)
• Outdoor dining allowed (up to 50% occupancy with at least 1.5 metres between tables unless there is a partition between them)
• Outdoor cinema, theatre, opera and philharmonic shows permitted (up to 50% occupancy)
• Outdoor sports can be practised by groups of up to 150 people
• Outdoor sporting events can have audiences (up to 25% of capacity)
• Schools reopen in “hybrid” (mix of online and offline) format for years 4 to 8 of primary school and years 1 to 4 of secondary school

21 May

• Indoor cinemas theatres, operas and philharmonics can reopen (up to 50% capacity and with no consumption of food or drink)
• Outdoor amusement parks can reopen (up to 50% capacity)

28 May

• Indoor dining allowed (up to 50% capacity with at least 1.5 metres between tables unless there is a partition between them)
• Events (such as weddings and first communions) can take place with up to 50 guests (people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 do not count towards the limit)
• Indoor sports facilities (including swimming pools) to reopen (up to 50% capacity)
• Gyms, fitness clubs and tanning salons to reopen (limit of 1 person per 15m²)
• Outdoor sports can be practised by groups of up to 250 people

29 May

• Schools fully reopen for all pupils

Main image credit: Lars Plougmann/Flickr (under CC BY-SA 2.0)

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.