Romania’s government is expected to extend the state of alert for another month when it expires this week in response to a surge in coronavirus infections in the East European country.
Health Minister Nelu Tataru said Tuesday that he didn’t think the government would impose further restrictions when the state of alert ended, but it would not loosen the lockdown either.
“The situation requires that the state of alert is extended,” he said. “We’ve done an assessment and we’ll give it to prime minister and the president,” he told B1 TV.
Romania announced a record-high 698 new infections on Saturday, while 637 new cases were reported on Tuesday. Some 1,931 have died after contracting the virus.
Since mid-May face masks have been mandatory in indoor public places, and large gatherings have been banned, but compliance has been erratic, leading to a spike in infections in recent weeks. Restaurants and cinemas remain closed.
Asked whether authorities would introduce more restrictions, Tataru said: “Let’s not talk about restrictions, but let’s not think about relaxing (them). „
The state of alert expires on Thursday and the government is expected to make an announcement after its weekly meeting on Wednesday.
“The number of cases is fluctuating: maybe 500, maybe 600, maybe 700 (new daily cases), depending on the number of tests,” Tataru said. “Extending the state of alert after July 15 is almost imminent,” he added.
He said that authorities may impose lockdowns on places or areas where there were outbreaks “as long as legislation allows us to do this.”
