On Sunday evening, the new restrictions aimed at
\npreventing the spread of the coronavirus took effect. In areas with an
\nincidence rate exceeding 4 cases per thousand inhabitants the nighttime curfew will
\nstart at 8 PM from Fridays through Sundays, instead of 10 PM for the other week
\ndays. On weekends, stores will close at 6 PM. The measures will apply over the
\ncourse of the entire week in areas with an incidence rate exceeding 7.5 per
\nthousand inhabitants. Gyms will be shut down and will reopen only when the
\nincidence rate falls below 3.5. Meanwhile, the Government is planning harsher
\nsanctions for businesses repeatedly violating COVID-related measures. A draft
\nlaw targeting nightclubs and restaurants is expected to be adopted this week.
\nInterior Minister Lucian Bode says the Government wants people to observe
\nanti-COVID measures.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again, our goal
\nis not to sanction citizens and economic operators. The Interior Ministry’s
\ngoal is to limit the spread of the pandemic. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The authorities’ decisions have been lately perceived
\nas illogical and abusive, some Romanians starting to lose patience. On Sunday,
\nafter midnight, as the new measures took effect, thousands of people took to
\nthe streets in large cities, voicing their disgruntlement. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
They’re locking us down in our homes like dogs. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
We’re protesting for our freedom and our right to go
\nout, because we have the right to be free. They have no right to take that away
\nfrom us! No one has! <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
We’re protesting all these measures. They are
\nlaughing at us. We voted for them, we put them there and what do they do? They
\nlock us down like rats. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Freedom, Don’t stay at home, or you’ll die alone,
\nNo restrictions were some of the slogans shouted out on the streets of
\nBucharest, Sibiu, Arad, Gala\u021bi, Constan\u021ba or Br\u0103ila. The protesters criticized
\nthe way the Government designed the curfew and called for new jobs, the
\nreopening of schools, restaurants and gyms, also demanding the healthcare
\nsystem be improved to help more people struggling with COVID-19. People also
\nshouted anti-Government slogans and called for the resignations of the head of
\nthe Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, and Liberal Prime
\nMinister, Florin C\u00ee\u0163u. (V.P.) <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The new restrictions designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus have sparked new street protests in Romania<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":88416,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[35374,35391,28990,30518,29710],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-88415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-covid-19","tag-florin-citu","tag-protests","tag-raed-arafat","tag-restrictions"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n