Timisoara the fourth largest city in Romania and several neighbouring communes have entered locked down for 14 days as of March 8 due to the increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases, according to intellinews.com.
Hundreds of residents gathered on Sunday in front of the Timisoara city hall to protest the decision while the city’s supermarkets were crowded with last-minute shoppers.
People will be able to leave their homes only for well-grounded reasons and with a statement. Stores will close before 20:00, and the number of customers admitted inside simultaneously must not exceed 30% of the usual capacity. All schools will close, and students will take online classes.
The infection rate in the capital city, Bucharest and three other counties (Ilfov, Cluj and Brasov) exceeded three per thousand residents, putting them in the red zone. This means that the local authorities will restrict certain economic and social activities.
Bucharest’s Committee for Emergency Situations has decided to close indoor restaurants, cinemas, theaters, gambling venues, cafes and clubs starting March 8.
Kindergarten and primary school pupils, as well as students in their final year preparing for the national examinations, will be allowed to go to school in person, while the rest will stay home and study online.
Raed Arafat, the head of the Department for Emergency Situations, said that the country faces the risk of a faster COVID-19 spread due to the new strain that is becoming predominant everywhere.
„All localities in the country are being monitored, and where local or regional quarantine measures are required, they will be taken,” according to Arafat, who assures that a new countrywide lockdown is not on the agenda at the moment.