New health protection rules

Like many other states, Romania is looking for solutions to fight the new coronavirus pandemic.

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Eugen Coroianu, 03.11.2020, 14:00

The Romanian authorities are taking new measures to fight the coronavirus epidemic, given that the number of coronavirus infections remains high and the health system is hardly coping with the situation. Thus, wearing protective masks in open spaces will be mandatory in all the localities of Romania’s counties where the cumulative rate of COVID-19 cases in 14 days exceeds 1.5 cases per one thousand inhabitants. The decision was made on Monday evening by the National Committee for Emergency Situations. So far, the mask was mandatory in the open air only in those areas where the contamination rate exceeded 3 cases per one thousand inhabitants, but the authorities have lowered the threshold in an attempt to limit the number of infections.

Also on Monday the PM Ludovic Orban underlined that in the localities with a high risk of virus spreading, the authorities may decide on mobility restrictions during the night. He also referred to the upcoming New Year’s Eve parties, reminding that activity is banned inside restaurants in those localities where the virus spread rate exceeds 3 cases per one thousand inhabitants. Asked about private parties, the PM answered that they might be equally banned if the current infection rate remained constant. As to shopping malls, PM Orban said they did not pose any risk so the authorities were not considering closing them. He went on to say that most important these days was for everybody to get mobilized. ‘If people observe the health protection rules, we will be able to return to normal soon’, the PM concluded.

As regards education, more than half of Romania’s schools and kindergartens are in the red and yellow scenarios, which imply online or hybrid classes. As many as one million Romanian pupils, that is more than 30%, have classes exclusively online. The education minister Monica Anisie called on the school inspectors to intensify monitoring the online courses, given that more and more students and parents reported that online teaching activities were not actually held. All school contests and Olympiads have been suspended for the time being. In Bucharest, schools will operate online until November 16.

In another development, the authorities announced that the Military Emergency Hospital in Cluj Napoca (northwest) became a COVID-19-support medical unit. It has 30 beds for infected patients, of which 25 are for moderate and severe cases and 5 for critical cases in intensive care. Also the National Committee for Emergency Situations has updated the list of countries, areas and territories with a high epidemiological risk, for whose citizens home isolation for 14 days is imposed upon arrival in Romania. These states are: Andorra, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Luxemburg, Slovenia, Armenia, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, France, the Netherlands, Croatia, Georgia, Guam, Slovakia, Poland, Spain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Montenegro, San Marino, Italia, the UK, Portugal, Northern Macedonia, Argentina, Gibraltar, Malta, Jordan, Hungary, Bulgaria and the French Polynesia.(tr. L. Simion)