New rules at the Romanian border
The digital passenger locator form has become mandatory for all those who enter Romania
Daniela Budu, 20.12.2021, 14:00
All border crossing points are extremely crowded, in particular those in western Romania, as many Romanians are coming come to spend the winter holidays with their families. This past weekend alone, some 500,000 people crossed Romania’s borders. Many of them were not vaccinated and hadn’t heard about the new rules announced by authorities against the background of the spread of the African variant of the coronavirus, Omicron.
For instance, in just one day, 13,000 Romanians of a total of 120,000 who entered the country were not vaccinated and had no PCR test to show, so they were quarantined. Moreover, as of Monday, the digital Passenger Locator Form has become mandatory in Romania. The form has to be filled in online, via an app developed by the Special Telecommunications Service, which can be found at plf.gov.ro. According to authorities, since its launch on Sunday morning, dozens of people have created such documents, meant to simplify the border access procedures.
The head of the Giurgiu border-crossing point, Razvan Paun, has explained how the new rule works:
The procedure is the same no matter the border point, be it on road, railroad or at the airport. When a person gets there, the officer on duty asks for their travel document, passport or ID, and then their locator form is checked. If they have filled in that form and no quarantine is required, they can just cross the border. If the said person has not filled in the form, it must do so within 24 hours since crossing the border. The check is automatic and it lasts no longer than 5 seconds, so overcrowding at the border will no longer be a problem. If the passenger fails to observe this rule, they will get a fine of 400 to 600 euro.
In turn, the head of the Border Police, Liviu Bute, has given assurances that people will be supported by authorities:
Our advice is to have this form filled in before travelling, in order to avoid spending too much time at the border crossing point. As for the rest, we will keep all control points open, at full capacity, and we will respond to any requests people may have in order to guide them and help them solve any issues they might have with filling in the form.
The passenger locator form is meant to help authorities identify those who have come into contact with an infected person. This document replaces the epidemiological declaration that had to be presented before upon entry into Romania. (MI)
