The declaration of the state of alert at national level

As of 15 May 2020 the state of alert was established at national level for a 30-day period under the Decision of the National Committee for Special Emergency Situations no. 24/2020 on the approval of the establishment of the state alert at national level and the infections’ prevention and control measures, in the context of the epidemic generated by the SARS-CoV-2 virus („CNSSU Decision”), published in the Official Bulletin no. 385 of 15 May 2020. This provides a series of measures that will be applicable over the following period.

1. General measures

As of 15 May 2020, within the commercial premises, within the means of public transportation, at the workplace and in other enclosed premises an obligation to wear a mask that covers the nose and the mouth is instituted.

Furthermore, persons are allowed to circulate outside their dwellings/households within localities, subject to observing the infection prevention measures and to avoiding the formation of groups of persons of more than 3 persons who do not belong to the same family. The travelling outside of the localities or of the metropolitan area is allowed only for certain reasons (such as business trips or for recreational activities to which no more than 3 persons who do not live together participate), based on a statement issued on own liability, which is available on the platform https://cetrebuiesafac.ro/adaptare-si-rezistenta/modele-de-declaratii.

Furthermore, parks will be opened, except for children’s playgrounds and subject to observing the general prevention and protection measures.

During this period, it is prohibited to organise and conduct meetings, rallies, concerts or any other meetings in open areas as well as cultural, scientific, artistic, sport, entertainment, gambling, fitness, pool and spa activities carried out in enclosed premises.

Exceptions:

• activities organized by the religious cults with public participation, which must be conducted only outside the place of worship, as well as private practices and rituals organised within the places of worship (with the participation of no more than 16 people), which must be conducted in line with the established prevention and protection measures. The religious service organised in public areas outside the place of worship shall not be deemed a public gathering;
• personal care activities carried out in specially designated areas and in compliance with prevention and protection measures;
• athletes’ trainings carried out in compliance with the prevention and protection measures;
• cultural activities conducted within the specially designated premises, respectively in museums, libraries and exhibition halls which are carried out in compliance with the prevention and protection measures;
• recreational and sport activities carried out in open air such as cycling, trekking, running, canoeing, climbing, hunting, fishing and such others, that are conducted with the participation of no more than 3 persons that do not live together.

2. Measures that concern the relation between the employer and the employee

Public institutions and authorities as well as public and private economic operators have the obligation to organise activities so as for their employees to work from home, and if the activity does not allow it, to take measures in order to:

• ensure the epidemiological triage consisting of checking the temperature of its own personnel and visitors at the access-control points within closed premises;
• ensure the mandatory disinfection of hands before entering the workplace areas;
• observe the rules that regulate the activity within open space offices and the rules regarding the operation of hotel accommodation units;
• shift the work schedule, for entities with more than 50 employees, so as for the beginning and the end of the work schedule to take place at minimum 1-hour intervals within a minimum 3-hour period, in tranches of minimum 20% of the personnel.

In what concerns the personnel with essential functions for the proper operation of the National Energy System, employers continue to have the possibility to order the preventive isolation measure at the workplace or in specially dedicated areas where outside persons have no access, in accordance with the provisions of their own base activity continuity plans.

3. Measures taken for the economy

Economic operators that conduct commercial activities/work with the public which involves the access of persons inside of buildings, must take actions to organise their activity so as:

• for the access to be organised so as to ensure a minimum 4 sqm area for each client/person and a minimum distance of 2 m between any two persons situated close to each other;
• not to allow the access of persons whose body temperature measured at the entrance within the premises exceeds 37,3oC;
• to ensure the disinfection of exposed areas and to avoid the agglomeration of persons, especially in the area of the cash registers/counters.

Throughout the state of alert, the serving and consumption activity is temporarily suspended in common meal serving areas within restaurants, hotels, motels, hostels, cafés or other public places as well as on the outside terraces of such places.

Exception: meal preparation activities as well as the selling of food and of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages that do not involve the remaining of clients within the premises intended for that purpose, such as “drive-in”, “room-service”, client delivery, “take-away” etc.

Moreover, the retail of products and services, in which several economic operators conduct their activity, is also temporarily suspended in commercial centres with a built-up area exceeding 15,000 sqm.

Exceptions:

• the sale of food, veterinary, pharmaceutical products and of eyewear products and services and dry-cleaning services;
• the sale of electronic products and household appliances only if the economic operators ensure their delivery at the buyer’s home or headquarters;
• the activity conducted by economic operators within commercial centres that can be accessed directly from outside the commercial centre and for whom the communication with the rest of the centre is interrupted.

4. Measures regarding the medical system

Dental practices may resume their activity for non-urgent cases and also medical assistance in outpatient clinics may be provided for non-urgent cases and also for patients whose condition does not risk aggravation. In this last case, the activity will be organised so as for the consults to be made only with prior appointment and subject to prohibiting patients to remain within the waiting areas.

Furthermore, hospital admission activities may be resumed for non-urgent cases in non-COVID medical care units. However, the access of the patients’ relatives continues to be prohibited and it is mandatory to organize a system to inform the patient’s relatives about the condition of the admitted patients.

5. Measures concerning the transport industry

The suspension of flights carried out by aviation economic operators to Austria, Belgium, the Swiss Confederation, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, United States of America, Turkey and Iran and from these countries to Romania for all the airports in Romania, for a period of 14 days as of 15 May 2020. This measure is not applicable to certain types of flights such as: freight and/or mail transportation, emergency medical services flights or those carried out by air transport operators holding a license that complies with the UE regulations, such as charter flights from other states to Romania, for the repatriation of Romanian citizens, with the approval of the Romanian Civil Aeronautical Authority, subject to the consent of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In what concerns the international road transport of persons by regular services, special regular services and occasional services in international traffic, all trips conducted by transport operators to Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Swiss Confederation, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Netherlands and Turkey and from these countries to Romania are suspended until 1 June 2020. However, international road transport of persons by occasional services will be allowed subject to certain requirements under art. 11 par. (2) of the CNSSU Decision.

6. Measures concerning the entering onto Romanian territory

Foreign citizens and stateless persons are prohibited from entering the territory of Romania by crossing the state border, with the following exceptions:

• family members of Romanian citizens or of citizens of other UE or EEA member state residing in Romania;
• persons holding a long-stay visa, a stay permit or a document equivalent to the stay permit issued by the authorities or an equivalent document thereto issued by the authorities of other states, pursuant to the EU law, or persons who conduct business travels proven as such by their visa, stay permit or other equivalent document;
• persons who are subject to a special regime: diplomatic or consular staff, international organisations personnel, military personnel, personnel who can ensure humanitarian aid, persons in need of international protection or for other humanitarian reasons;
• passengers in transit, including those repatriated under consular protection and passengers who travel for imperative reasons.

The persons who come to Romania from abroad will be put in quarantine/home isolation with their family/relatives with whom they live, or in institutionalised quarantine. The quarantine/isolation does not apply to certain categories of persons among which freight transport motor vehicle drivers with a maximum authorised capacity of over 2.4 tones, aircraft pilots and flight attendants, railway staff or representatives of foreign companies that have subsidiaries/branches/representative offices on the national territory, if when entering onto the Romanian territory they do not show COVID-19 associated symptoms and they prove the contractual relations with the economic entities on the national territory.