Poland is banning from Wednesday direct flights from 44 countries including Spain, the United States, Israel and Romania in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the Central European country, the government said on Tuesday. Hungary, which had closed its borders for foreign tourists, has decided to reopen them to its three East European neighbours, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The United States, Malta, Montenegro, Mexico, Brasil, Argentina and India are also on the list of countries, but local media reported that Russia and China had been removed from it.
The move follows measures to reintroduce restrictions on public life in the worst affected parts of the country, as the government tries to tackle the spread of the virus without resorting to a complete lockdown.
Poles are, however, allowed to fly to and from any country they want if they choose indirect flights through countries that are not on the list, such as Germany.
Poland, a country of 38 million, has officially registered 67,922 COVID-19 infections and more than 2,000 people have died from the virus. On Tuesday 550 new infections were registered, according to Health Ministry data.
Hungary exempts V4 countries
Hungary decided to let tourists from its three East European neighbours, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia enter the country with a fresh negative coronavirus test, it said late on Monday, just as a lockdown on its borders took effect.
Last week Hungary said it would close its borders to foreigners from Tuesday to curb a rise in coronavirus cases. Returning Hungarian citizens can leave a 14-day quarantine only if they provide two negative COVID tests.
However, after talks with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis on Monday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban agreed to let Czech visitors who have already booked holidays in Hungary for September enter the country, the Foreign Ministry said.
The easing was subsequently extended to Poland and Slovakia, the ministry said in a statement. Visitors coming to Hungary have to produce a negative COVID test not older than five days, which Budapest says represents sufficient safety guarantees.
As of Monday, Hungary had reported 6,139 coronavirus cases with 615 deaths. The number of new cases has surged in recent days, just as Hungary prepared to start the school year.
Orban, a nationalist who has been in power since 2010, faces one of the biggest challenges of his rule as the Hungarian economy plunged by an annual 13.6% in the second quarter. Hungary eased lockdown measures in May.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters
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