Poland reopens EU borders after 3-month lockdown

WARSAW, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Poland reopened its borders with European Union (EU) countries at midnight on Friday, ending a travel lockdown that was in place since March 15 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Border controls have been lifted at midnight between Poland and Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with the Polish-Lithuanian border reopened earlier on Friday. Citizens from other EU countries are allowed to enter the country, while Poles returning from abroad are no longer required to undertake 14 days of home quarantine.

Besides Poles and other holders of EU passports, those with diplomatic status or a so-called Karta Polaka, obtainable for non-Polish citizens able to prove Polish heritage, are also allowed to enter, and so are students at Polish educational institutions.

Borders with non-EU countries -- Russia, Belarus and Ukraine -- will remain closed.

Several border towns celebrated the reopening. Local officials from Slubice ceremoniously met their counterparts from the German city of Frankfurt (Oder) on the bridge connecting the two municipalities. A similar ceremony was held on the bridge connecting southwestern Poland's Zgorzelec and the German town of Goerlitz just after midnight.

The reopening of the borders followed appeals by the European Commission to member states to reopen the Schengen area and allow for free movement before July 1. Poland is also set to allow international flights to and from the country starting Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 is still rising in the country. The Polish health ministry reported 440 new cases on Saturday morning, taking the total to 29,017, with a death toll of 1,237.