Hotels, shopping malls, and cultural centres across Poland will be able to reopen from Monday as part of the second stage of relaxing the lockdown in place to slow the spread of Covid-19. Speaking to a televised press conference yesterday, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Health Minister Łukasz Szumowski said the daily number of recoveries from the virus is now higher than the number of new infections. However, strict rules will remain in place. Shops in malls will be limited to 1 customer per 15m² and food courts and playgrounds will remain closed.
Hotels can open but pools, gyms, and meeting facilities will stay shut. Cultural centres including museums, galleries, and libraries will open gradually over the coming days and weeks with each institution implementing specific safety measures.
Prime Minister Morawiecki also said the move was deliberately timed to take effect after the Majówka long weekend to prevent people making trips en masse, something the PM called a serious epidemiological threat. The PM also announced that physiotherapy and rehabilitation centres will be able to open again but the government stresses that massage parlors remain closed.
From May 6, kindergartens and nurseries will be allowed to open once again, however this will be decided in each case by local authorities. Schools are due to remain closed until May 24th.
LOT Polish Airlines in talks with Boeing on converting planes to cargo transports
LOT Polish Airlines is reportedly in talks with aircraft manufacturer Boeing on temporarily converting some of their flagship aircraft into cargo transports.
The 787 Dreamliner is the centrepiece of LOT’s fleet, but as demand for passenger air travel collapses, the aircraft could be tasked with moving cargo instead. Several airlines around the world have temporarily moved to cargo, but LOT would be the first airline to do so using the state of the art Dreamliners. The Polish state-owned airline is facing difficulty after Poland suspended nearly all international flights last month.
Since the flight ban, the airline has mainly focused on operating charter flights to return Poles to Poland and foreigners to their home countries, as well as flying medical supplies into Poland from abroad.
Source: Reuters
Government announces „Netflix tax” plans
The Polish government has announced plans to introduce a 1.5% surcharge on internet streaming services including Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Under the plans, streaming companies would be charged 1.5% their revenue, bringing in 15 million złoty per year according to estimates by the Rzeczpospolita newspaper.
However, Finance Minister Tadeusz Koscinski, who announced the plans in a press conference yesterday, has insisted that the charge is not a tax and said the funds raised by the surcharge would go straight to the Polish Film Institute.
First drive-through test centre opens in Gdansk
Gdansk has opened its first drive-through Covid-19 test centre in the parking lot of the Energa Stadium.
The centre is testing people experiencing symptoms of the disease without having to leave their vehicle, helping to reduce the risk of spreading the virus to medical workers.
Gdansk Mayor Aleksandra Dulkiewicz visited the site, where she thanked medical staff and emphasised the importance of testing in fighting the virus. Mayor Dulkiewicz also thanked a group of students from the Gdansk Medical University who have volunteered to help run the testing centre.
Those wishing to be tested must call ahead to register with University Clinical Centre.
Weather
Warmer than yesterday with temperatures back into the mid teens Celsius today. Highs of about 15°C, thats 59°F.
No rain expected today but remaining mostly cloudy, a chance of some rain overnight and into tomorrow morning with more rain and possibly some thunderstorms on the way in the coming days.
Radio Gdansk News / TAH
