From tomorrow, citizens of the selected countries will be able to enter the EU for tourism, business, or other reasons without having to quarantine on arrival. The list of countries is expected to be confirmed today, but is understood to include Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, as well as South Korea and Japan, among others.

The United States, Brazil, and China are so far not included, though China could be added if it agrees to reciprocate and allow EU citizens into its country.

The US, which is suffering an especially serious rebound of the virus, could be added later as the list of countries is reviewed.

The news comes as the World Health Organisation warned the worst may be yet to come if governments don’t implement effective policies. More than 10 million people have now been infected with the virus worldwide.

Figures have been released on turnout for Sunday’s first round presidential election.

Nationwide, the vote saw record high turnout, at 64.4%. That’s a huge increase over the 48.8% seen in 2015.

Here in Gdansk, turnout was even more impressive, with 71.5% of registered voters taking part.

But a special shout-out goes to the residents of Kiełpino Górny In Gdańsk’s Kokoszki district, where turnout was an incredible 85%.

Sunday’s first round vote showed no overall winner, meaning a second round run-off will be held on July 12th between incumbent Andrzej Duda and opposition candidate and Warsaw Mayor, Rafał Trzaskowski.

Two long-awaited new tram routes are open today for the first time.

From today passengers can once again take the Number 8 and 9 trams all the way to Stogi beach. The line from Gdansk city centre out to the beaches east of the city had been under renovation works for months.

But a brand new route is opening today in the South of the city. From this morning, the Number 12 tram has been taking passengers all the way from the suburbs in Ujeścisko. The line extension runs on entirely new track, including over the newly-opened Paweł Adamowicz Avenue and the so-called Venetian Viaduct.

Passengers traveling on the 12 this morning were also joined by Gdansk Mayor Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, taking an inaugural journey on the new line. Meanwhile, the city’s Deputy Mayor, Alan Aleksandrowicz, took a ride on a historic 1927 tram along the renovated line to Stogi.

Gdańsk’s famous Baltic Opera is celebrating 70 years since its first production.

The renowned Opera Bałtycka first opened its doors on June 28th, 1950, with a production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.

Since then, the Opera has put on some 285 productions of both opera and ballet. In 2010, it was ranked among the nine best opera companies in Europe, alongside London’s Covent Garden and Brussels’s Opera La Monnaie.

The anniversary will mainly be celebrated later this year, with a triple-bill of Claude Debussy’s The Prodigal Son, Arthur Honegger’s Judith and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, premiering on November 20th.

Weather

A cool but pleasant day today with temperatures only reaching about 21°C, 69°F. Mostly sunny as we go into the afternoon, but clouding over somewhat later on. Much the same story tomorrow morning with a slight chance of some rain later in the day.

Radio Gdansk News / TAH