On May 30, some of the provisions related to the fourth stage of loosening the restrictions entered into force. How do they affect the situation of airsofters in Poland?
As a reminder: in the third stage, which came into force on May 18, the government guidelines officially included information allowing the operation of open paintball fields. Despite this, airsoft in the forest area still remained unlawful.
There are many indications that this situation may have changed with the introduction of the fourth stage of removing restrictions. The main record that seems interesting is:
"From Saturday, May 30, it is allowed to organize gatherings in open spaces and open-air concerts, in which up to 150 people take part. Participants must, however, cover their mouths and nose or maintain a 2-meter social distance.
Important! Sanepid will present recommendations where, due to the epidemiological situation, gatherings or outdoor concerts should not take place. However, the final decision belongs to the competent local government unit. "
Of course, you should ask yourself whether airsoft meetings can be included in gatherings - and in particular spontaneous gatherings - which do not need to be reported to public authorities in advance?
Along with the introduction of the third stage, an inquiry was sent to one of the poviat sanitary authorities asking for an opinion on conducting group airsoft trainings in the forest area, while maintaining social distance, without public participation:
"It is specifically a niche sport, which is airsoft competition (its character is similar to the more widespread paintball, but uses paint free, environmentally friendly, biodegradable materials). Due to the specificity of this sport, there is no direct contact between competition participants , and the distances between them are usually much larger than the recommended 2 meters. At the same time, one of the basic elements of equipment for all participants are protective masks. "
The negative answer came, but the only contraindication mentioned is:
"(...) until further notice, it is prohibited to organize assemblies within the meaning of Article 3 of the Act of 24 July 2015 - Assemblies Law (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 631)"
Could this indicate that sanepid treats airsoft games as the aforementioned gatherings? If so, the recent repeal of the ban on gathering up to 150 people would explain the situation of airsoft meetings for up to 150 participants.
Our interpretation of current regulations may, however, be incorrect, for which we cannot be held responsible. Therefore, before making a decision about organizing a meeting or participating in it, we recommend that you consult with the competent authorities or institutions on your own and determine whether such activities will not conflict with applicable guidelines.
Source: https://www.gov.pl/web/koronawirus/4-etap-odmrazania
