New recommendations about the pandemic

Going back to the state of emergency is the last resort, president Kaus Iohannis assures Romanians.

Roxana Vasile, 30.07.2020, 14:00

The situation generated by
the novel coronavirus in Romania is very serious, said president Klaus Iohannis
in a press conference. He emphasised, however, that reimposing the state of
emergency, which would restrict civil rights and liberties and would inhibit
economic activities, is the last resort.

Amid a surge in the number
of new daily cases, the president again warned that it is essential to respect
the measures imposed to prevent the spread of the virus. Klaus Iohannis:

Wearing a face mask is very important.
Physical distancing is also very important. We have to be realistic and ask
ourselves: what do we want? Do we want to let the disease spread freely and for
us to become a nation of patients or do we want to contain the outbreak?

A recurring question recently
is about the start of the new school year in mid-September. After the
government said it was considering a number of scenarios, president Klaus Iohannis,
himself a former teacher, said:

School naturally cannot restart
in normal conditions because the pandemic will not go away until September,
that much is clear. It would be very complicated to hold all classes online, so
we’re heading towards a mixed scenario, where, depending probably on the local
conditions, we will have either more teaching conducted in normal situations,
with the children back in the classrooms, or more teaching online, or a mixed
system.

Another important question is
whether the local elections will be held on the 27th of September,
as scheduled. The president says that while we’re in the middle of a pandemic
that may or may not subside, we do need local elections to give the local authorities
legitimacy. He is therefore convinced that unless the health crisis
deteriorates and if strict measures are taken, the elections will be able to be
held in September. Discussions on this subject are ongoing.

Meanwhile, the government
has taken new measures to prevent the spread of the virus. Localities or counties
with a high number of infections will be able to limit opening hours for bars,
which will only be allowed to serve as many customers as there are seats
available. Also, it may become compulsory to wear a face mask in crowded areas,
including outdoors, in places where the recommended physical distance cannot be
maintained. The authorities have again called on people to respect the rules or
the country may be facing a generalised
crisis.