Romania increases restrictions to address the COVID-19 outbreak

Only a couple of days ago we reported on the second Military Ordinance issued after the institution of the state of emergency in Romania on 16 March 2020. It became clear relatively quickly however that the recommendations for limiting travel during the day were too soft to make a real difference and prevent further COVID-19 contagion. With numbers of COVID-19 positives increasing daily, the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued its third Military Ordinance on 24 March 2020, introducing further restrictions.

We present below the main restrictions introduced through the third Military Ordinance, most of which apply from 12.00 noon on 25 March 2020:

►    all  travel outside of one’s home is prohibited, except for:

        →   professional reasons, including between one’s residence and the place(s) of work;
        →   procurement of goods for basic needs or professional requirements;
        →   medical assistance that cannot be delayed or procured remotely;
        →   justified reasons, such as attending to children, the elderly, sick or disabled, or in case of death of a family member;
        →   short breaks for physical activity (except any team activity), in the vicinity of one’s home;
        →   blood donation;
        →   charity or volunteering;
        →   agricultural activities;
        →   travel by agricultural producers to sell their produce.

►    senior citizens of 65 years of age and above are generally prohibited from travelling outside their home, other than between 11.00 and 13.00 hours, and only for the reasons referred to above in (i) letters (b), (c), (d) and (e);    

►    for agricultural activities or for professional interests, such senior citizens may also travel outside of the permitted interval mentioned above;

►    all travel will be subject to strict verification that the grounds above are met – to verify the reason for travel:

        →   employees must present a confirmation issued by their employer or a work ID;
        →   self-employed individuals, freelancers and individuals engaged in agricultural activities, must present an affidavit/statement on own liability, filled in advance;
        →   in all other cases of permitted travel, the relevant individual must present an affidavit/statement on own liability.

►    all persons entering Romania will be subject to home isolation or, as the case may be, quarantine;

►     all flights to/from France and Germany (except for mail and merchandise flights) are suspended for 14 days – this measure kicks in from 25 March 2020, 11.00 pm;

►    all maritime vessels must undergo a 14 day quarantine before being permitted to dock on the Romanian Danube ports;

►    all documents issued by public authorities (e.g. licenses/authorisations) which expire during the state of emergency, shall be renewed within 90 days after the cessation of the state of emergency.

In addition, the third Military Ordinance clarifies that the activity of operators operating in commercial centres/malls, which sell electronic and house appliances and deliver the same to the buyer’s location, or which sell optical equipment and services, may continue to do so. Under the second Military Ordinance, the activity of such operators was prohibited.