At the end of
\nthe two-month state of emergency, introduced to deal with the coronavirus
\ncrisis and accompanied by restrictions that had a powerful impact on Romanians’
\nlifestyle, this weekend our country switched to the state of alert, which also
\ncomes with certain regulations, although less harsh than the previous. People
\nstarted to leave their homes the moment the state of emergency was lifted. In
\nBucharest, for instance, right after midnight on Friday, the parking lot in
\nfront of the Parliament Palace was full. Reopened on Friday, parks were teeming
\nwith people, although playgrounds and open-air restaurants remained closed.
\nSome continued to relax even late into the night, without observing the rules. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Social media overflowed with images of young people partying late on Saturday
\nnight in Herastrau Park, in northern Bucharest, ignoring social distancing
\nregulations. Young people flocked in groups larger than 10, very few of them
\nactually wearing masks, and some people actually sitting at tables, which
\nimmediately gave rise to suspicions that restaurants might have reopened
\nillegally. Facebook and Instagram carried images of a concert on one of the
\npark’s alleys, where a DJ mixed music for hundreds of people who were dancing.
\nThe party was broken off by the authorities, who forced people to go home. The
\nfirst day without restrictions also brought about the first protest. Hundreds
\nof people gathered in front of the Government building, voicing their
\ndisgruntlement with the measures imposed in the last two months, which they
\nclaim go against the Constitution. Some even criticized the World Health
\nOrganization. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Many Romanians even left the city last weekend, signing a written
\ndeclaration. Law enforcement authorities only reminded them of the new
\nregulations under the state of alert. Romania’s western borders were also
\novercrowded last weekend. Long waiting lines stretched several kilometers, the
\nbusiest point being Nadlac 1, where transit took as many as 8 hours. People who
\nwere dropped off close to the borders also made up long queues. Many Romanians
\nchose to return home because they are no longer forced to enter quarantine upon
\ntheir return. Also many Romanians are now returning to their workplace in
\nWestern Europe. To ease traffic on the Hungarian border, the authorities have
\nopened Nadlac 2 border crossing point, which had been reserved to freight
\ntraffic in the last weeks. On Monday the law stipulating the measures,
\nobligations and bans that come into force during the state of alert took
\neffect. Fines range from 100 to some 3,000 Euro. People can pay half the amount
\nwithin 15 days.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
(Translated by V. Palcu)<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The authorities say 98% of Romanians observed the law, helping keep the pandemic in check<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":85790,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[36994,35488,35665,35514],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-85789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-border-crossing","tag-mobility-restrictions","tag-new-regulations","tag-state-of-alert"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n