Romania introduced new measures, taking effect on Wednesday, to curb the spread of the coronavirus epidemic. According to this, travelers coming from a country where the proportion of coronavirus infections to the population has exceeded the Romanian figures in the last two weeks will have to go to quarantine. Thus, those coming from Hungary and 48 other countries must be quarantined for 14 days.
The new measure, and several other precautions to limit the spread of the epidemic, was decided by the National Epidemiological Operative Board (CNSU) of Romania at its meeting on Monday evening. The list of countries at risk, the so-called “yellow zone,” has been updated based on data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on Monday.
According to the data, there have been 109 new infections for every 100,000 inhabitants in Hungary’s southern neighbor in the last two weeks. The CNSU compared this number to the other countries, including Hungary, and those who are arriving from a country where this number is higher, will be quarantined for two weeks. As this figure currently stands at 129 in Hungary, Hungarians also have to comply with the quarantine obligations.
However, for those who test negative for coronavirus after a week, the quarantine obligation will be lifted on the tenth day. Those who arrive in Romania and stay less than three days (72 hours) and can present a negative test taken up to 48 hours before crossing the border, are automatically exempt from quarantine.
According to the Romanian operative board’s decision, settlements classified as high risk for infection should be placed under lockdown and people should switch to home office, where it is possible, or a rotating work schedule should be introduced. They also decided to ban pilgrimages in Romania. According to the provision, believers from other settlements are not allowed to attend church ceremonies in other cities. This concerns one of the most popular ceremonies of the Romanian Orthodox Church, the pilgrimage of Saint Piroska which would be next week, during which tens of thousands of believers usually crowd for days around the cathedral of Jászvásár (Iasi) to touch the sacred relics revered as those of the patron saint of the region.
In Romania, with a population of more than 19 million, an average of 1,600 new infections per day have been diagnosed in the last two weeks, and more than 40 people have died daily as a result of the coronavirus and complications of the disease.
featured photo: Zsolt Czeglédi/MTI
Source: https://hungarytoday.hu/
