The protest was staged on a foot bridge connecting Zgorzelec and the German town of Gorlitz, which functioned as one town before the borders were closed. Around 300 people gathered at the Polish side and some 100 at the German, some wearing face masks. The two groups were separated by a provisional metal fence that has been erected in the middle of the bridge to prevent people from crossing the border. Renata Burdosz, from Zgorzelec town hall, cited data showing that around 20,000 Poles work in the German region of Saxony, 10,500 of whom cross the Polish-German border on a daily basis..

Poland was one of the first European Union states to close borders due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus. It also imposed a mandatory two-week lockdown for those who enter its territory - a major jolt for those who live their lives in between two EU states.