Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said his government would offer a support package worth up to PLN 1 billion (EUR 220 million, USD 270 million) to areas in the south of the country affected by a ban on winter tourism amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The measure, referred to as a "Regional Shield," aims to support ski resorts from Ustrzyki Górne in the southeast all the way to Szklarska Poręba in the southwest "through all the mountain ranges to which many Poles traveled in previous years, but won’t be able to go this year because of various restrictions due to the epidemic,” Morawiecki told a news conference on Wednesday.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
The measure is expected to help protect jobs and prevent "negative consequences for the labor market," Morawiecki also said.
Poland is set to enter a national quarantine from December 28 to January 17 as it struggles to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Hotels and ski slopes will have to close during that period, with officials appealing to people to spend the winter school break at home.
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Source: IAR, PAP