Polish police clash with anti-restriction protestors

APD NEWS

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Police and demonstrators clashed in Warsaw on Saturday during an unsanctioned protest by small business owners and entrepreneurs. Authorities used pepper spray to break up the initial protest of a few hundred gathered in a square in the capital's Old Town. Several protesters were arrested.

The protesters demand a complete lifting of economic restrictions put in place to contain the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic in the country, and an increase in aid for businesses that have been hit hardest by the pandemic.

According to police, protesters behaved aggressively to uniformed police. According to rules put in place to contain the pandemic, any demonstrations need to be sanctioned by local authorities beforehand.

Originally, miners from Silesia, some 250 km southwest of Warsaw, were meant to join the demonstration in the capital. The organizers, however, backed down the night before, citing health reasons. The coal mining communities in Silesia have been hit hardest by the epidemic.

Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki assured miners that the government will not restrict movement to and from Silesia and that no mines will close due to the pandemic.

The Polish government has announced on Wednesday that it will further ease economic restrictions. Some businesses that require physical contact will be allowed to reopen on Monday under a special sanitary regime.

This means that hairdressers and beauty salons, among others, will be able to partly operate from that moment under rules enforced by the sanitary authorities.

As of Saturday, Poland has reported 18,257 COVID-19 cases, with 915 deaths.