Romania in the Green Zone

Romanias infection rate with the novel coronavirus has been on a downward trend for quite some time now, which means the country is presently in the so-called green zone and in-person schooling can safely resume

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Corina Cristea, 17.05.2021, 14:00

Against the latest downward trend of
the infection rate with the novel coronavirus, new relaxation measures have
come into effect in this country as of May 15th. Outdoor mask
mandates have been lifted though they remain in place when it comes to crowded
places like public transportation facilities, supermarkets, meetings, concerts
and other types of gathering.

The night curfew has also been lifted
and restaurants, bars and beer gardens can now stay opened between 5 and 24
hours. Outdoor sporting facilities are allowed to stage competitions with an
attendance of 25% of their capacity. But these events can be attended only by
people who got their vaccine at least 10 days before the event, by people who
can produce a negative PCR test taken in the past 72 hours or a rapid antigen
test not older than 24 hours.

Cultural events can be attended by a
maximum of 500 people who must observe certain rules. We together had a
difficult year. We were all wearing masks and had to keep the social
distancing. We together got vaccinated and I would like to thank the Romanians
for their understanding. We have a vaccine rollout in full swing and an
all-time high of 120 thousand people vaccinated. A rollout that continues as
the Romanians have understood that the only way out of this pandemic is
vaccination, Romania’s Prime Minister Florin Citu said on Saturday night while
attending the pilot-show at the National Theatre in Bucharest. According to
Citu, new relaxation measures are to be applied as of June 1st,
provided this downward trend continues.

On the very first day of this
much-desired relaxation, the Romanians left in large numbers for seaside and
mountain resorts, which resulted in a series of traffic jams on the country’s
main motorways.

Those who decided to stay at home
went to barbeques with friends or went for a stroll in parks, which during the
weekends turned into overcrowded places.

Authorities in Romania have planned
another three relaxation stages on June 1st, July 1st and
August 1st. Restrictions will be gradually lifted but they are conditioned
by the number of vaccinated people and the infection rate. The vaccination
targets have been announced by president Iohannis, 5 million by June 1st,
6 million a month later and 7 million by August 1st.

Under these conditions, next month
will be seeing outdoor events with up to 1,000 participants, whereas outdoor
weddings and other religious services can be attended by 70 people. Indoor
festivities are limited to 50 people. The number of participants in suchlike
events is expected to rise gradually starting July and August 1st.

(bill)