Two months after the state of emergency called due to
the COVID-19 pandemic, Romania on May 15 entered a state of alert. The announcement
was made late on Thursday evening by Interior Minister Marcel Vela:
Taking into account the analysis and proposals
advanced by the group for technical and scientific support for the management
of highly contagious diseases on Romania’s territory regarding the measures
that must be maintained and introduced to prevent and control the spread of
infections, also considering the persistence of a high number of infections in
Romania as well as the occurrence of new cases of infected people, which piles
up pressure on local authorities and the health system, and in the context of
the gradual relaunch of social and economic activities, while maintaining an
adequate level of alert at the level of the National System for the Management
of Emergency Situations, the National Committee for Emergency Situations has decided
that a state of alert will be instated at national level over a period of 30
days, starting May 15.
People will have to wear protection masks in shopping
centers, means of public transportation and at work. They can also move around
freely around the city without a signed declaration. They must, however,
provide a declaration attesting a sound reason for leaving the city, such as
work, humanitarian aid, volunteering, agricultural works or the sale of
agri-food products, the administration of a property or taking care of a sick
relative. People will also be able to leave the city for outdoors sports
activities and family events with a limited number of people. Restaurants
remain closed, while parks will reopen. State Secretary Raed Arafat talked
about the new obligations under the state of alert:
Public institutions and authorities as well as public
and private economic operators must organize their activity so that people
continue to work from home and take measures to ensure the epidemiological
triage, compulsory disinfection before entering working areas, the observance
of regulations on activities performed in common spaces, spacing-out working
hours for companies with more than 50 employees, whenever the economic activity
cannot be performed remotely.
Dentists’ will reopen while non-COVID hospitals will
resume admissions that aren’t urgent, with the next of kin still being banned
from entering hospitals. Finally, flights operated by commercial airliners to
and from Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Great
Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, the USA and Turkey have been grounded for an
additional 14 days. The international road transport of passengers to and from
Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Great Britain,
the Netherlands and Turkey remains closed until June 1. Certain border crossing
points remain partially or fully closed. People arriving in Romania,
irrespective of the country of origin, will be isolated at home or placed in
quarantine, either at home or in institutionalized centers, upon their request.
(Translated by V. Palcu)