Radio România Internațional

Tag: face masks

  • Restrictions in the holiday season

    Restrictions in the holiday season

    Against the backdrop of the daily increase in the number of COVID-19
    infections, more and more towns and villages are placed in quarantine for 14
    days. The latest name on the list is Faget, in western Romania, and three
    auxiliary villages. The measure was introduced after dozens of locals reported
    sick and another 100 people made direct contact with them. Medical and
    auxiliary staff at the local hospital have also tested positive. Police
    officers are checking the necessary documents allowing people to enter or leave
    the area. People must sign statements attesting their movement for justified
    reasons only, such as work, transport of goods, agricultural works, medical
    emergencies or social assistance. Faget Mayor Marcel Avram:


    We hope people
    won’t panic. They won’t be able to leave town except for sound reasons. They
    can travel freely inside the town, for work and groceries. Face masks are
    compulsory in institutions and stores. I hope they grow more aware of the
    danger and take greater care.


    The authorities
    are also closely monitoring areas in Arges County in the south, which ranks 4th
    in terms of the total number of infections. Meanwhile, encouraged by the good
    weather, over 100 thousand people visited Black Seacoast resorts last weekend,
    to the authorities’ despair. Officials see this as a great impediment to their
    efforts to combat the pandemic. After the states of emergency and alert and the
    number of harsh lockdown restrictions that kept them behind closed doors all
    spring, Romanians chose to spend the holidays at home, also faced with travel
    restrictions introduced by a number of European states. Thus beaches are
    overcrowded in the early morning hours. Whether lying on the beach or bathing
    in the water, people are too close to each other, some denying the existence of
    the virus altogether. Others say they are trying to observe the authorities’
    recommendations. The Government has recommended all tourists seek less crowded
    areas and wear face masks, where possible, even in open-air areas. Meanwhile
    the authorities continue to verify all prevention measures are being observed
    and to hand out fines to economic operators on the Black Seacoast.


    (Translated by
    V. Palcu)

  • More than 1,000 people killed by COVID-19 in Romania

    More than 1,000 people killed by COVID-19 in Romania

    The number of people killed by the new coronavirus in Romania has exceeded the threshold of 1,000 persons. According to the Strategic Communication Group, which publishes the official figures reported by the authorities on a daily basis, around 16,000 people have been contaminated across Romania since the confirmation of the first case of coronavirus infection in the country, at the end of February. The good news is that about half of the infected people have recovered from the infection.



    For more than two weeks now, the active cases of coronavirus infection in Romania have stabilized at around 7,300-7,500. Moreover, the average number of people who have recovered started to get closer or even exceed, in some days, the number of new contaminations announced daily. But, the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units has remained constant in this period, at about 250 cases each day. So far, about 270 thousand tests have been processed across Romania.



    Statistics show that Romania is the country with the highest number of deaths from Central and Eastern Europe. As regards the Romanian citizens in the Diaspora, the information provided by Romania’s diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad shows that around 3,000 Romanian citizens have been infected with the new coronavirus. More than half of these cases were reported in Italy, but many cases have equally been registered in Spain and Germany. Since the start of the pandemic, over 100 Romanian citizens from abroad have died, most of them in Great Britain, Italy and France — official data show.



    Some experts say that the rate of infection with COVID-19 is the same for men, women and children, but their response to the infection is very different. The most vulnerable persons in the face of the new coronavirus are the old people and the people with chronic diseases, although gender is equally important. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the most vulnerable people are the elderly suffering from cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure, respiratory system diseases and cancer. The pulmonary complications caused by the new coronavirus have killed more men, the WHO shows. As for children, they are not in the vulnerable category.



    We recall that after two months of state of emergency in Romania, there will follow a ‘state of alert’ period which means that severe restrictions will be relaxed, but there will be new obligations. The authorities have announced that measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 are still needed. Therefore, as of Friday, May 15, face masks must be worn in public spaces and in public transportation means. During the ‘state of alert’ period, Romanians will no longer need a self-declaration to leave their homes, but they will need one to leave the city. (translation by L. Simion)