Hotels, cinemas, theatres and outdoor sports facilities such as tennis courts, but also swimming pools, will be allowed to reopen to the public and fill up to half capacity from next Friday, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a virtual news conference.
He said the curbs were being lifted conditionally for two weeks, after which time officials would evaluate their effect on the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths.
Meanwhile, a host of other restrictions on public life, including the closure of restaurants and gyms, will remain in place, Morawiecki told reporters.
'Fragile stabilization'
He told the news conference that the epidemic "has stabilized" in Poland over the past several weeks, leading to fewer COVID-19 patients in hospitals and fewer ventilators being in use.
But "the number of deaths is still disturbing, and that is why today we can only talk about a fragile stabilization," he added.
In a partial easing of coronavirus restrictions, shopping malls around Poland reopened at the start of this week.
That relaxation also allowed museums and art galleries to admit visitors again, though with health protocols in place.
Poland in the middle of last month reopened schools for young children after a prolonged period of distance learning.
The country on Friday reported 6,053 new coronavirus infections and 368 more deaths, bringing its total number of cases during the pandemic to 1,539,564 and fatalities to 38,712.
Meanwhile, the number of people vaccinated against the coronavirus in Poland has exceeded 1.5 million, government data showed on Friday.
The Prime Minister’s Office has said that some 6 million jobs have been saved throughout the country thanks to measures including a massive relief and stimulus package designed to shield the economy from the coronavirus.
(gs/pk)
Source: IAR, PAP