Bucharest keeps schools closed, restrictions in place for another two weeks

The restrictions that currently apply in Bucharest have been extended for 14 more days, the County Committee for Emergency Situations in Bucharest decided on Monday, November 2.

This means schools remain closed, and pupils attend classes online. Indoor restaurants and cafes, theaters, and cinemas remain closed as well, while mask-wearing is mandatory in all public outdoor and indoor venues. The measures are in place until November 16.

The restrictions were introduced mid-October as the city entered the “red scenario,” meaning that the incidence of Covid-19 infections passed three cases per 1,000 inhabitants over the past 14 days.

“We unanimously decided to keep in place the measures approved through the previous decision. We didn’t think it was necessary to introduce new measures,” Traian Berbeceanu, the Bucharest prefect, said.

Berbeceanu said that closing the city’s parks during the night was discussed, but the measure was not introduced because “the Committee cannot adopt it since it involves a potential infringement on people’s rights and liberties.” Instead, they decided to bring the issue to the attention of the National Committee for Emergency Situations. He said that after 22:00, when terraces close, many young people meet in parks and have “parties without following the distancing and prevention rules.”

The rate of infections in Bucharest is of 3.91 per one thousand inhabitants, the prefect explained.

Berbeceanu announced that the staff of the Prefecture would work in two shifts starting tomorrow, while state institutions and companies would change their schedule to prevent the crowding of the public transport.

In his turn, Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan said imposing a quarantine on certain streets of the city is “a potential decision, a hypothesis.”

This past weekend, Dan said that placing Bucharest under quarantine was not being considered, News.ro reported. However, the mayor pointed to a potential quarantine on streets or areas where hotspots are identified.

Health minister Nelu Tătaru also said on November 1 that the authorities were not considering introducing a lockdown in the country. The focus was instead on local restrictions, where the epidemiological situation calls for it.

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