When will restrictions be lifted?

The Romanian authorities are considering a possible gradual relaxation of health protection measures after the model of other European countries.

Daniela Budu, 11.02.2022, 13:50

After several European countries such as the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, France, Spain and Italy have progressively diminished restrictions, the Romanian authorities are also considering the possibility of gradually relaxing the anti-COVID measures. Experts say that there is a declining trend in both the number of infections and the occupancy rate of hospital beds, but still the number of patients in ICUs remains the same. According to the head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, Romania could get rid of restrictions before Easter, at the end of April.

Raed Arafat: “We have the clear intention to follow the examples of other countries, which have reached the peak of this wave before us. So, the measures that Romania will implement will be very similar, from what I can tell you now, to those implemented by other countries in this regard. The only difference between us and them is the rate of vaccination. The tendency to take measures in the future or to give up measures will be very similar to what other countries have done, and we can already see the results of these measures in those countries.

In turn, the health minister, Alexandru Rafila, believes that, in a few weeks time, Romania will reach a COVID-19 incidence rate of one case per thousand, at which point the relaxation of restrictions could start gradually. And he recalls the measures related to wearing a protective mask and the Green Certificate.

Alexandru Rafila: “Restrictions need to be lifted gradually, and people need to understand that they still have a responsibility towards their fellows. We do not rule out the emergence of new variants that may affect certain communities or certain vulnerable groups. I hope this is the last wave that posed major problems. In the next 3-4 weeks, we will reach a number of cases similar to that reported in mid-December, and then, of course, we can discuss a reassessment of public health measures and even the lifting of some restrictions, such as this digital certificate.

Alexandru Rafila reminded, however, the importance of vaccination, especially in the case of vulnerable people. The coordinator of the vaccination campaign, Valeriu Gheorghiţă, announced that over 8 million people had at least one vaccine dose, which means a percentage of vaccination in the adult population of more than 50% and in the general population of 42%, which still is a small percentage compared to most European countries. However, he expressed optimism about the evolution of the virus and said that in the future, vaccination against this virus will be seasonal, like the vaccination for flu, and the vaccine will be adapted to the strain of that period. (LS)