Almost 90 thousand Ukrainians left Poland due to quarantine
Since mid-March, when authorities introduced measures related to the coronavirus pandemic, more than 118 thousand foreigners left Poland across the eastern border. 89 thousand of them are Ukrainians. At the same time, only 32 thousand people entered the country across the eastern border, Rzeczpospolita reports.
90% of Ukrainians who left Poland were employed in the field of gastronomy, hotel sector and services. Their work is temporarily suspended due to a pandemic.
An additional problem is that most administrative institutions are in quarantine. And many emigrants working in Poland end up with a residence permit, visa or visa-free period.
Polish border guards note that this is a real outflow on an unprecedented scale. Among the left are many Ukrainians who legally, with all permits, worked in Poland, as well as young people, including students.
Crowds of Ukrainians lined up for several days to get to their country on time. They wanted to return before Ukraine, as authorities had previously announced, closed its borders (on the night of Thursday to Friday). That night was at its peak.
“During the 12-hour night shift, 5 thousand people crossed the border. This is a record high level ... At the same time, foreigners entered the country sporadically,” said border guard speaker Dariush Sinitsky.
A similar "siege" occurred at the Korchova checkpoint. Here on Friday (before noon) more than 3 thousand people came to Ukraine.
"We have been witnessing such an intensification of the return of Ukrainian citizens for several days. These are people who have temporarily stayed in Poland, work here legally, and now they are returning," said Elzbieta Pikor, speaker of another Polish border post.
Source: NV
