Restaurants in Romania won’t reopen as planned on July 1, following a spike in coronavirus cases which came after some people refused to wear compulsory face masks and disregarded other measures designed to slow the spread of the virus.
Health Minister Nelu Tataru said late Monday that officials had “assessed the last two weeks, when cases increased, two weeks when there were more patients in intensive care, and more deaths.”
“Experts recommended we postpone relaxation measures scheduled for July 1,” he said.
In recent days, Romania has reported more than 300 new cases for several days in a row while 55 patients succumbed to the virus in the past three days.
Ahead of the announcement, the government on Monday met with experts to assess the situation.
But Dragos Petrescu, a spokesman for the hospitality sector, called the decision “unjustified” saying it would inflict further economic damage on the hard-hit industry. He claimed Romania was the only European Union member that hadn’t reopened restaurants.
The government allowed outdoor restaurants to reopen in June, provided there was a distance between tables and a restricted number of diners at each table.
In a stark warning, Health minister Nelu Tataru said Romanians “who have lost their survival instinct and don’t respect measures imposed by authorities to go to intensive care units and see how a patient can die at 30 or 39 without having underlying health issues., and see how medics are sweating all day long in hazmat suits in tough conditions, but still carrying out their profession.”
The rise in new cases comes as Romania gradually relaxed a lockdown since May 15. Masks and physical distancing are compulsory in enclosed public spaces, but compliance has been patchy.
Romania has recorded 269 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, with fewer tests being carried out than usual in the past day. Some 5.63% of those tested were diagnosed with Covid-19, the highest percentage of positive tests since June 22.
Fifty-five people succumbed to the virus in the past three days. taking the total death toll to 1,634.
Romania has reported 26,582 cases of Covid-19 since the pandemic began in late February.
