Head of Romanian Microbiology Society: Limiting mall hours would prevent the coronavirus spread

While shopping cannot be forbidden, public health measures can be taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, dr. Alexandru Rafila, the president of the Romanian Microbiology Society (SMR), argued in a interview at Marius Tuca Show, quoted by Mediafax.

Since malls are places frequented by families with children, places where many Romanians shop or spend their time with families, the program of the malls should be limited to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Rafila said.

The SMR president advised Romanians to limit travel, avoid crowds and keep the distance from others in order to prevent the spread of the virus.

“We avoid crowds and the gatherings of up to 1,000 people need to be approved by Public Health Departments (DPS) and they should take place in an area where there is sufficient room so people do not stand too close to one another,” he said.

He also advised people to give up on long-term travel abroad, for the Easter holiday for instance, and stay at home or travel in the country.

He also insisted that everyone follows the hygiene rules, both at home and at work. “It’s easy to say it, harder to do it. In a minute, we involuntarily touch our face. The hands need to be clean and disinfected, soap and alcohol-based disinfectants for surfaces,” he said.

He also gave the example of France and Switzerland, which banned gatherings larger than 1,000 people, a measure also adopted by Romania on Sunday, March 8. “Large crowds are a risk. We are in phase 1, of up to 25 cases, which are import cases, not inside the communities,” Rafila said.

Still, if things evolve, events such as music festivals Untold and Neversea or the European Football Championship might not be held, he argued, Mediafaxreported.

“We will see. I don’t want to make any predictions. We don’t know how things will evolve in the summer. […] Flights to Italy are suspended. If Italian fans come here, what do they do? Do they remain quarantined for two weeks? These things can happen and measures will be taken. Medical congresses that are not large have been canceled,” Rafila said.

Giving the example of Italy, where there is an increase in the number of cases, the SMR president said the spread will not stop.

“We keep hoping that a miracle will happen in summer and the transmission of the virus will be done with increased difficulty. Other coronaviruses are more sensitive to dryness and we assume it will be the case for the new one. We have to see if this will happen. A peak in April – May, after which it will drop over the summer and increase again during winter. It will probably have a cyclicity,” he said.