Wearing masks outdoors no longer obligatory, Court rules

A government order making wearing of face masks obligatory in outdoor spaces is declared unconstitutional.

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Ştefan Stoica, 16.02.2022, 14:00

The Constitutional Court of Romania ruled that an emergency order adopted in November 2020 making the wearing of face masks obligatory in outdoor spaces is unconstitutional. The order in question did not have the approval of the Legislative Council, Parliaments advisory body, the Court explained. The Courts ruling will come into force after being published in the Official Gazette. The government said it would issue an order to comply with the courts ruling as soon as the Court publishes its justification. The move comes at a time when there is increasing talk about easing, and even lifting almost all existing restrictions. The medical director of the Matei Balş Institute in Bucharest, Adrian Marinescu says face mask wearing has helped prevent infection:

“Of the measures that have prevented infection, Im not calling them restrictive measures, face mask wearing has undoubtedly been the most effective throughout the course of the pandemic. Whether outdoors or indoors, especially in crowded spaces where people come into contact with each other, wearing face masks clearly made the difference, as much as that was possible, because nothing is 100% proof. We will probably give up wearing face masks in the coming period, first outdoors and then probably everywhere . But we must be clear that we needed them during the pandemic, and without these prevention measures, the rise in cases would have been steeper and many more lives would have been lost.”

Health minister Alexandru Rafila said wearing face masks helps protect the population during intense transmission of the virus. As for the much-awaited relaxation of measures, which he himself spoke about earlier, Rafila now urges caution. He says the time has not yet come because there are places with a dynamic economic life that favour transmission:

“Bucharest, Cluj, Timişoara saw the highest incidence rates. Its only natural, because they are effervescent places with a lot of mobility which favours transmission much more than, say, a small town or a village, so the pressure is greater in these places on the health system and thats why we must be cautious. Of course, we all want it and in the coming weeks we will lift some of the restrictions, later probably also the state of alert, but this must be done in stages, depending on how the health system is coping with the pressure.”

The health minister believes that life may largely go back to what it was like before the pandemic by Easter. (CM)