Radio România Internațional

Tag: FFP2

  • State of alert in Romania extended

    State of alert in Romania extended

    In the context of the rapid spread of the Omicron strain of the novel coronavirus, which is transmitted much more easily, wearing a protective mask becomes mandatory again, as of Saturday, in all enclosed and open spaces in Romania, as the state of alert has been extended by the Government. Furthermore, the use of textile or plastic masks is no longer permitted due to their very low efficiency. Doctor Valeriu Gheorghiţă drew attention to the wrong way in which people often wear the protective mask, without adequately covering the nose and mouth.



    Valeriu Gheorghiţă: “Besides this recommendation to use a medical mask, I would suggest that people should use the mask correctly, because good masks are useless if people do not use them correctly. The three-layer surgical masks should be replaced every four hours. FFP2 masks can be worn for a longer period because they have a much more rigorous filtration”.



    Besides the obligation to wear a protective mask, there will be restrictions for the activity of restaurants, for shows and sporting events, depending on the Covid-19 incidence rate in each locality. Shops and restaurants will be open until 10 p.m. Meanwhile, in the run up to the 5th wave of the pandemic, the authorities are deciding where to set up Covid outpatient assessment and treatment centers, a measure aimed at reducing the risk of hospital overcrowding, as happened in autumn. According to Dr. Beatrice Mahler, the manager of the Marius Nasta Institute in Bucharest, these centers will be very helpful not only for hospitals, but also for patients who will be healed faster.



    Beatrice Mahler: “At the moment, we are approaching the 5th wave from the perspective of a therapy that can be administered from the first days of illness. It is important that the patients who are at risk of developing a severe form, those over 65 or patients with a chronic disease in treatment, have a place to go to from the very first symptoms of the disease. Of course, we should not rule out the presence of patients who are symptomatic and have a suspicion of SARS-CoV-2 infection. They can also go to these centers to get a diagnosis.”



    The authorities are strongly recommending vaccination, as it significantly reduces the risk of developing a severe form of COVID-19 and the risk of death. According to experts, the vaccinated people who have also had the booster dose or those who have had the disease are the most protected categories in the run up to the new wave of the pandemic. However, Romanians are not eager to get vaccinated, even if the number of infections is more than four times higher than a week ago, the number of vaccines administered daily being quite small, about several thousand. However, those who have already been fully vaccinated find it easier to decide on having the booster dose. (LS)

  • Face masks will be compulsory outdoors again

    Face masks will be compulsory outdoors again


    Romanian authorities are getting ready for the 5th wave of the coronavirus pandemic, which according to some estimates may cause up to one million active infection cases.



    The first measure is to reintroduce compulsory face covering both outdoors and indoors, as the head of the Department for Emergency Situations Raed Arafat announced. The measure concerns surgical masks or FFP2 masks, which provide better protection, and eliminates cloth masks, which are inefficient with the Omicron variant.



    Raed Arafat also announced that other restrictions will be reintroduced, depending on the case frequency. A decision made by the National Committee on Emergency Situations on Wednesday introduces a 30% of capacity ceiling for concerts and cinema halls in places with more than one case per thousand people, and a similar ceiling for restaurants in places with frequency rates above 3 per thousand.



    Arafat added that access will remain conditional on the digital COVID certificate. He warned businesses that they risk having to suspend operations as a large number of their employees will get infected unless protection rules are observed.



    The face covering rule will allow for exceptions, such as for sports activities. Critical infrastructure units may introduce compulsory testing for employees or the obligation to wear FFP2 masks, the same official added, and mentioned the example of the Cernavodă nuclear power plant.



    Healthcare authorities also announced that people with moderate forms of the disease will be able to choose from 160 outpatient centres. The health minister Alexandru Rafila said the goal was to reduce the number of severe forms and of fatalities, and the healthcare system is being organised so as to streamline case referral.



    In turn, the coordinator of the vaccine rollout, Valeriu Gheorghiţă, explained that the Omicrons airborne transmission and shorter incubation times compared to previous variants make immunisation the best form of protection from severe forms. “Vaccination and the administration of the booster dose to eligible citizens remains a priority, because this is the way to reduce the number of patients who will need anti-viral treatment, hospitalisation, intensive care, and the number of fatalities,” Valeriu Gheorghiță said.



    Romania is last but one in the EU in terms of vaccination, with only 41 of the population having received the serum so far, and little over 2 million people having also received the booster. (tr. A.M. Popescu)