Romanian restaurants hope to operate normally starting July 1

The employers' association in Romania's HoReCa industry, HORA, agreed with prime minister Ludovic Orban on a plan to reopen the restaurants and resume normal operations as of July 1, Profit.ro reported.

The program is awaiting a reconfirmation from the Government. In parallel, the sanitary inspectorate ANSVA, which has been consulted over the same measures, is supposed to give the final agreement for the plan's implementation.

In the first phase, scheduled for June 1, only the outdoor areas of restaurants and the indoor spaces of takeaway units with indoor service, will be opened.

HORA agreed with the prime minister to implement a distance of 1.5 meters between tables and sit a maximum of eight people at a table.

The agreement also includes mandatory sanitary measures for employees (wearing masks, measuring the temperature of employees when they start their shift), equipping the premises with sanitizing gel dispensers, and sanitation and scheduled disinfection of workspaces.

As of June 15, the indoor areas of restaurants will be opened - with physical distancing restrictions and sanitary requirements.

Enclosed spaces, whether restaurants, bars, cafes, or self-service, will have to ensure a distance of 1.5 meters between tables, and there shouldn't be more than eight seats at a table.

The third phase, scheduled for July 1, will remove all restrictions, but this will happen depending on the evolution of COVID-19 cases by that date.

(Photo: Pixabay)