Bucharest keeps schools closed throughout the week due to cold

The public schools, high schools and kindergartens in Bucharest will remain closed throughout the week because of the cold weather, Gabriela Firea, the capital’s mayor, announced. The schools will open again on Monday, March 5. Temperatures in the city are not expected to exceed -7 degrees Celsius until March 2, according to a prognosis of the National Meteorology Administration (ANM). During the night, temperatures in Bucharest can drop to -19 degrees Celsius, possibly lower at the outskirts of the city. Furthermore, the meteorologists warned about the frost, beginning the evening of February 27 and until the morning of February 28. The mayor also said that families who do not have anyone to leave their children with can turn to the General Department for Social Assistance, in order to find “specific solutions.” “We need to show humanity and stop asking the question of where to leave the children if the schools are closed. I understand the difficulty of the families but I think that schools are, first of all, for education, not for supervision and care,” the mayor said, quoted by News.ro. Schools were closed on Tuesday, February 27 in Ilfov, Dolj, Teleorman, Giurgiu, Constanta, and Tulcea. In Olt and Braila, schools will stay closed on February 28 as well. The ANM maintains the orange code for cold for the Moldova, eastern Transylvania, Oltenia, Muntenia and Dobrogea regions until March 1, at 10:00. Thirty national roads, 41 county roads, the A2 highway, connecting Bucharest to the Black Sea port of Constanta, and the A4 highway, servings as a bypass for the city of Constanta, were closed on Tuesday because of the cold and blizzards. Throughout the morning of February 27, 12 flights on the Henri Coanda International Airport registered delays of up to 40 minutes. The snow and blizzard also affected the rail traffic on Tuesday, when dozens of trains were canceled. Train in Romania fills with snow after floor breaks, transport minister reacts editor@romania-insider.com