The head of the Department for Emergency Situations in Bucharest Raed Arafat
pointed out that we can’t speak of a total ease in lockdown restrictions, as we
are not seeing a constant drop in the number of new infections. Arafat told the
public TV station that several counties in Romania continue to be considered
hotbeds of infection.
Anyone claiming
the pandemic is behind us and things are ok is clearly misinformed. Right now
the situation is under control, better than it was before, but we’ve not yet
reached the point of zero contagion. We still have hotbeds in several counties,
whether it’s homes for the elderly, industrial areas or medical units we’re
talking about. And the number of cases is still fluctuating.
A medical doctor,
Arafat claims the ease in lockdown restrictions starting June 1 will have to be
analyzed in terms of its effect. Any decision will be based on this analysis of
the evolution of COVID-19. The Romanian official says extending the state of
alert would be normal at this point, providing the authorities with the
possibility of coordinating and taking the necessary measures. Raed Arafat
added that, even in the event of a complete lifting of restrictions, he still
wouldn’t go to the cinema or theatre, as the risk is still there. We’ve all
achieved some good here, it would be a shame to stumble at the threshold. June
15 will not entail a return to life as it was before the pandemic, Raed Arafat
concluded. Lockdown restrictions have been less harsh in Romania, but they were
introduced sooner, Arafat says. Romanians should focus on internal tourism,
which has suffered a lot and needs support. Fortunately, we have many mountain
and seacoast destinations, the official continued. And indeed, in the Pentecost
miniholiday, thousands of tourists took resorts on Prahova Valley and on the
Romanian Black Seacoast by storm, after a hiatus of several months. Over 15.000
Romanians visited seacoast resorts, despite lower estimates from travel agents.
According to an online agency, the reality exceeded expectations for the nearly
100 hotels on the seacoast that opened their doors to tourists. The number of
guests was however four times lower compared to the same period last year.
Thousands of tourists also headed to resorts on Prahova Valley, where they
could ski on a special slope, go trekking or mountain biking. Cable transport
facilities were operational, and the good weather outside brought thousands of
people out of their homes for outings.
(Translated by V.
Palcu)