State of emergency, tougher measures in Romania

Romania bans non-essential travel for residents between 10 PM and 06 AM and halts entry for foreigners

Diana Vijeu, 21.03.2020, 21:54

In a press conference given on Saturday evening, the relevant Romanian authorities made public new restrictions, in an effort to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Weve managed to reach our main objective: there is no large scale community spread of the novel coronavirus in Romania, the Romanian interior minister, Marcel Vela, said.

The Romanian official announced new restrictions, adopted
through a military ordinance. All of them are meant to limit the risks the population is exposed to. The activity of dental clinics has been temporarily
suspended, except for emergencies. Retail activities have been brought to a
halt in commercial centers, such as malls, where several operators are doing business. This does not apply to food sellers,
pharmacies and cleaning service providers. Religious service has been restricted, with masses being celebrated online. A maximum of 8 people are allowed to attend private events such as marriages, baptisms and funerals.

Residents are required to stay at home to the maximum extent possible during daytime, with a ban on non-essential travel being imposed between 10 PM and 06 AM. The movement of persons outside their homes is allowed only when in full compliance with the general measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, avoiding the formation of any group larger than 3 people who do not live together.

People on lockdown or under stay-at-home order who leave their homes without approval from the authorities will be placed under quarantine. In turn, those leaving the quarantine facilities without official authorization will get a 14 day quarantine extension, will be fined and face criminal prosecution.

In addition to these measures, local authorities should identify and provide assistance to people aged over 65 years who lack support, so as to reduce to a minimum their movements outside the house.

Also, Romania halts entry for
foreigners, except for when they transit Romania’s territory along transit corridors, laid out in agreement with the neighboring states. Exception
to the rule are, among others,
foreigners who are family members of the Romanian citizens, foreigners
who are family members of EU, EEA and Swiss Confederation citizens residing in Romania,
foreigners who hold a long stay visa, a stay permit or an equivalent document issued by the authorities of other states, according to the EU law, foreigners who travel to
Romania for professional purposes, proven by a visa, a stay permit or another
equivalent document, foreigners who are members of the diplomatic and consular
corps, the staff of international organizations, military personnel or
personnel who can provide humanitarian assistance.

The
same applies to passengers who transit Romania, including those who are
being repatriated after having been granted consular protection, passengers who
make essential travels (on medical or family-related grounds), people who
need international protection etc.

All measures will be enforced as from March 22, 2020, 22.00 hours, local time.