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14,000 Poles have flown home on special flights amid coronavirus pandemic

20.03.2020 00:55
Around 14,000 Poles have returned from abroad on 95 special flights as the government conducts a massive operation to bring citizens home amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
Audio
Image by Fuzz from Pixabay
Image by Fuzz from Pixabay Pixabay License

Since the start of the operation on Sunday, national air carrier LOT has flown Poles in from countries including Spain, Sri Lanka, Norway, Portugal, Morocco, Thailand, India, Iceland, Egypt, Greece and Turkey.

Further such flights chartered by the government are planned from Britain, Ireland, Cyprus, Malta and the United States, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency has reported.

Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz said earlier this week that the special flights would continue as long as they were needed.

Poland suspended scheduled international air connections on Sunday.

The country has declared a state of "epidemic emergency" and temporarily closed its borders to non-residents as it ramps up efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

A total of 355 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Poland, while five people have died after being infected, the country’s health ministry said on Thursday evening.

(pk/gs)

Source: IAR

Click on the "Play" button above to listen to an audio report by Michał Owczarek