WARSAW (Reuters) – Dancing, drinking, and fighting marked the easing of some COVID-19 restrictions in Poland over the weekend as tourists, many without masks, let off steam in the ski resort of Zakopane.
Poland allowed ski slopes to reopen from Friday for a two-week trial interval, with cinemas, theatres, and hotels also allowed to open at a maximum of 50% capacity.
Agata Manysiak was delighted to be back on the slopes in another Polish resort, Szczyrk.
“It’s nice, conditions are nice. There’s natural snow and it would be a shame to not take advantage of it,” she mentioned.
Many of the thousands who gathered within the center of Zakopane were celebrating the second-place finish of Pole Andrzej Stekala in a Ski Jumping World Cup event in the city.
“Fights, brawls, arguments, damage to shops … a burning car,” police spokesman Roman Wieczorek told private broadcaster TVN 24. “I can remember such situations … but I can’t remember them being as aggressive as that.”
Polish authorities have warned that tighter restrictions will be brought back if COVID-19 case numbers rise as a result of individuals disregarding social distancing guidelines.
Restaurants are still only allowed to serve to take away food, and wearing masks is compulsory.
While the disturbances were condemned by police and local authorities, the reopening of slopes and hotels was welcomed by businesses in Poland’s mountain regions.
“The operation of large ski resorts from mid-February to the end of March… will allow us to survive till the next winter,” Michal Slowioczek, a spokesman for the Szczyrk Mountain Resort, told TVN 24.
