Poland will ban passenger flights from 46 countries, including Croatia, as of Sept 2, according to a draft regulation published on Thursday, as the country grapples with a spike in coronavirus infections, Reuters has reported.

The move follows targeted measures to reintroduce restrictions on public life in the worst affected parts of the country, as the government tries to tackle the spread of the virus without resorting to a complete lockdown, the news agency said.

“Due to the threat of spreading SARS CoV-2 virus infections, it is necessary to exercise the right to introduce air traffic bans… in order to minimize the threat to public health,” the regulation said.

Poland closed its borders and suspended flights in March to stop the spread of the coronavirus. However, it progressively loosened restrictions on public life, with shopping centres, hotels and restaurants all reopening in May.

Polish national airline PLL LOT resumed international flights on July 1 almost four months after suspending them. Other countries affected by the ban are France, Spain, Montenegro, Romania, the United States, Israel, Mexico and Brazil.

Since the onset of the pandemic, Poland has had 64,689 cases of the infection and 2,010 fatalities.