This week, the Polish Government has announced the entry into the next, and according to earlier announcements, the last stage of defrosting the domestic economy, and thus the abolition of existing restrictions on business activities introduced in connection with the COVID-19 epidemic. The sixth in a row Regulation of the Council of Ministers on the establishment of specific restrictions, orders and bans in connection with the epidemic will replace the regulation of 16 May 2020 (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 878), and its entry into force is planned for 30 May 2020. From the beginning of the announcement of the state of the epidemic in the territory of the Republic of Poland, each of the industry closely followed the temporary bans and restrictions on doing business, and then watched it gradual abolition with equal attention. According to the plan originally announced by the Government the entry into force of the new regulation should complete the abolition of the bans and restrictions on all business activities established in connection with the announced state of the epidemic, but this is not the case. There is still a ban on running discotheques and nightclubs, and for some types of activities, running them is allowed but still subject to certain restrictions (e.g. cinemas where no more than half of the seats will be available to participants). The new regulation will also establish further rules for the functioning of all public space facilities and the rules for movement in this space but the announced abolition of the bans and restrictions on doing business will not mean a complete return to reality before the epidemic, as the announced state of the epidemic has still not been canceled.
As a rule, from 30 May 2020, there will be no obligation to cover your nose and mouth in an open space if you keep a distance of 2 meters from people staying in these places. This obligation will, however, be maintained in most enclosed spaces, including in workplaces and public buildings dedicated to the needs of, among others trade, gastronomy, services, as well as i.e. in courts and offices. Here, in accordance with the proposed wording of the regulations, the obligation to cover the mouth and nose will not apply to persons performing professional, business or commercial activities in these buildings, but only to persons providing direct service to clients or petitioners during its performance. In commercial or service facilities and market stalls (stalls) the obligation to cover the mouth and nose will apply to everyone without exception. It should be emphasized that in this last stage of defrosting the economy, restrictions on the permissible number of persons per square meter of a given space, existing until now, and annoying especially for the trade and catering industry are abolished.
From the nearest Saturday, i.e. 30 May 2020, fully open (although on certain rules) will be i.e. restaurants, and from 6 June 2020 also i.e. cinemas, gyms, fitness clubs, saunas, solariums, massage salons. For shopping center owners, this means that all service and catering points located therein, which remain closed so far, will be able to function again on 30 May and 6 June 2020, although still with certain rules for both owners and customers. In gastronomic facilities it will be necessary above all for customers to cover their mouths and nose until they occupy the place where they eat or drink.
In commercial or service facilities with a sales or service area of over 2,000 sq m and commercial facilities within the meaning of the Act of 10 January 2018 on trade restrictions on Sundays and holidays and on certain other days (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 466), the following obligations are maintained:
- wearing disposable gloves by persons staying on their territory when purchasing goods or services;
- providing disposable gloves or hand sanitizers by these facilities;
- disinfecting the cash desk or service desk during their opening hours, at least once an hour.
Pursuant to the new regulation, while maintaining the abovementioned obligations, from 30 May 2020 it should also be permissible to conduct retail trade or service activities on sale stands and also without restrictions as to the number of people served. The proposed new regulations do not duplicate existing restrictions in this respect, i.e. separating counters or cash desks with plastic screens.
The general obligation for workplaces to provide employees, regardless of the basis of employment, with disposable gloves or hand disinfectants and, in principle, to provide at least a 1.5-meter distance between workplaces is maintained.
According to official information available on government websites, specific sanitary recommendations for individual industries, which are primarily a practical specification of the new regulation and also an important guide for its proper implementation, will be given after the consultation process with entrepreneurs. However, since the majority of existing business obligations for individual industries shall probably be maintained, it cannot be excluded that the guidelines developed so far, available on the websites of the Ministry of Development, will remain, at least for some industries, the same or will change slightly.