Poland eases restrictions in 11 provinces from 26 April

Thanks to the progress in vaccination

Poland becomes yet another EU country to start alleviating coronavirus restrictions, thanks to the local progress in vaccination. The government announced on Wednesday the easing of curbs in 11 provinces with the lowest daily infections number, starting from 26 April.

Changes in these voivodships concern non-essential services and education. At the same time, existing restrictions in the remaining 5 provinces are being extended.

Poland: a list of provinces and restrictions to be lifted

Starting from Monday, those who live and work in the majority of Polish provinces will enjoy more freedoms. For example, hairdressing and beauty salons will reopen to customers. In addition, children from grades 1-3 of primary school will switch to hybrid education.

This will be the case in the following list of voivodeships where the average daily number of infections per 100,000 inhabitants does not exceed 35:

• Podlaskie,
• Subcarpathian,
• Warmian-Masurian,
• Lublin,
• Pomeranian,
• Lubusz,
• Holly Cross (świętokrzyskie),
• Masovian (where the capital Warsaw is located),
• Kuyavian-Pomeranian,
• West Pomeranian and
• Lesser Poland. 

Unfortunately, in some parts of the country, the incidence rate remains too high, therefore, the existing restrictions there will remain unchanged for now. Those are:

• Silesian,
• Lower Silesian,
• Greater Poland,
• Lodz and
• Opole.

Furthermore, other than the abovementioned measures, all other rules continue to apply throughout the country. For instance, hotels will remain closed until 3 May (except for business trips). Large shopping centres and malls, (apart from grocery stores, pharmacies and drugstores, bookstores), are also not allowed to open.

The same goes for theatres, cinemas, museums and art galleries, while indoor sports facilities are open only to professional athletes.

With over 9 million vaccines administered so far (and 2.3 million people having received a second dose), Poland is already reaping the benefits of its vaccination campaign. Furthermore, the country expects a much-accelerated process in the second half of the year with the arrival of larger quantities of the vaccines.