Poland to open EU borders on Saturday, PM says

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland will open its borders with fellow European Union countries on Saturday and allow international flights from next Tuesday, the prime minister said on Wednesday, as the country unfreezes its economy despite an increase in coronavirus cases.

Poland closed its borders to foreigners in March to stop the spread of the coronavirus. However, it has been progressively loosening restictions on public life, with shopping centres, hotels and restaurants all reopening in May.

“In some countries...this pandemic is still behaving in a very disturbing way, so for now we limit this decision (opening borders) to European Union countries,” Morawiecki said.

Poland has seen a recent rise in infections, mostly centred around coal mines in the south. On Monday 599 new cases were reported, a record.

As of Wednesday morning Poland, a country of around 38 million people, had reported 27,668 cases of the coronavirus and 1,191 deaths.

Austris said on Wednesday it was lifting checks at its border with Italy and ending quarantine requirements for more than 20 European countries as of next Tuesday.