Romania on Wednesday entered a month-long state of alert as authorities try to find a balance between easing the lockdown and maintaining some restrictions to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, who heads the minority Liberal Party, said Tuesday that government would extend the state of alert for another month, after 250 new cases of coronavirus were reported in the last 24 hours taking the total to 22,415.
Parliament, which is controlled by opposition parties who are opposed to extending current restrictions, will vote on the government’s decision.
The government and medical experts say the highly contagious virus isn’t yet under control with a rise in cases in the last week.
However, in an apparent sign of pressure from opposition parties and the dominant Romanian Orthodox Church, Orban said churches could open their doors for regular worship.
Romania banned church services when a state of emergency was imposed in mid-March as the pandemic spread across the world. Since mid-May outdoor church services have been permitted.
After Orban gave the green light to regular church services, the Romanian Orthodox Church thanked the government and said churches would make sure worshipers respected government health rules.
“It is essential to slowly but with common sense go back to our social lives,” the church was quoted as saying by news.ro.
”Churches are of different sizes, and a reduced number of believers will be able to take part in services. The rules must be laid out very clearly_ distancing and wearing masks,” Orban said.
Orban also talked about the fact that the government had come under fire for allowing allowed betting shops to reopen before churches.
”Gambling isn’t just slot machines, it’s the national Lottery, betting shops. What people who are criticizing us just so they don’t understand is that we impose measures based on epidemiological risk.”
In recent days, Romania has allowed malls and private schools to reopen. Restaurants with no outdoor seating, theaters and cinemas are still closed.
