Government not to ease restrictions

Despite protests against new restrictions to curb spread of Covid pandemic, authorities say they have no plans to ease them.

România Internațional, 01.04.2021, 14:00

The
Romanian authorities are not considering easing current measures taken to limit
the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Prime minister Florin Cîţu explained
that these measures were taken because of a recent spike in new cases and ICU
admissions. He said Romania has nonetheless the least restrictive measures in
the European Union. The new measures will help us overcome this difficult
period and reduce the spread of the virus, said Cîţu, who explained that the
decision wasn’t easy and was taken after consultations with healthcare experts,
the local authorities and church officials. Florin Cîţu:

We asked
for solutions from specialists so as to slow down the spread of the virus for a
while, to allow us to step up the vaccination campaign, because we must all be
aware that the only solution to overcome the pandemic is vaccination. These
measures will help in the short-run, now, this month, and next month hopefully
we will be able to speed up vaccination. Afterwards, you’ll see that things
will change.

This month, Romania is due to receive over 3.3 million vaccine doses,
including the new single-shot Johnson & Johnson jab. A new batch of Pfizer/BioNTech
vaccine was delivered to Romania on Monday, where the mass vaccination campaign
is under way. Over 2 million people have so far been given the jab, of whom half
also the second dose. The coordinator of the vaccination campaign Valeriu Gheorghiță says that from April,
GPs will also be able to administer the vaccine, more vaccination centres will open
and 12 new facilities for the administration of the Moderna vaccine will become
operational.

Despite a surge in new cases and increased
pressure on the healthcare system, especially intensive care units, thousands
of people have staged protests in Bucharest and other cities across the country
against the new restrictions, in some cases even leading to violence. Demonstrators
chanted anti-government slogans and say they are unhappy with the new measures and
the wearing of facemasks outdoors. They demand the reopening of schools, restaurants
and gyms. The authorities say they understand people’s frustrations but that these
measures are the only ones that can help contain the virus.

Under the new measures, movement at night-time
is further restricted and shops close earlier depending on the rate of
infection in 1,000 residents. (CM)