Romania to reimpose curfew, mask mandate

Bucharest, Oct 23 From Monday onwards, the Romanian government will reintroduce night curfew and the mandatory wearing of masks in all public spaces amid a record Covid-19 resurgence.

The wearing of protective face masks is mandatory in both indoor and outdoor public spaces, as well as in the workplace and in the public transport, said Raed Arafat, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Interior who heads the Department for Emergency Situations (DSU).

"From 10 p.m. (to 5 a.m.), people's movement will be prohibited throughout the country," the DSU head told a press conference, specifying exceptions to the restriction for those vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19.

The new measures set by the authorities will continue for a period of 30 days, according to Arafat.

Arafat also reminded that access to public buildings as well as to all public activities and events will be restricted only to persons with a green certificate.

The pandemic situation in Romania deteriorated rapidly since late September, insufficient vaccine coverage of only 30 per cent and non-compliance with protection measures are believed to be the main causes for the surge.

This week, the eastern European country registered a record daily new Covid cases and death.

As of Saturday, Romania has registered a total of 1,534,942 coronavirus cases and 43,844 deaths.

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