President Klaus Iohannis has convened a working meeting with the government officials on the management of the COVID-19 pandemic on Wednesday, at the Cotroceni Palace.
According to the Presidential Administration, the meeting, which began at 5.30 pm, is attended by Prime Minister Florin Citu, the interim Minister of Health, Cseke Attila, the Interim Minister of Internal Affairs, Lucian Bode, the Interim Minister of Education, Sorin Cimpeanu, Head of the Emergencies Department, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Interior Raed Arafat, Chairman of the National Committee for Coordination of Activities on Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2, Valeriu Gheorghita, and Director of the National Center for Monitoring and Control of Communicable Diseases within the National Institute of Public Health, Adriana Pistol.
The working meeting takes place in the context in which, in the last two days, a large number of new cases of COVID-19 and a large number of deaths have been registered in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2.
If we want the pandemic to end, vaccination is the only solution; restrictions are needed
President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday, after a meeting with government officials on managing the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic, that vaccination is the only solution to halting the pandemic, insisting on the need for restrictions.
“We talked about vaccination, schools and restrictions. I want to be very clear from the get go: if we want the pandemic to stop, vaccination is the only solution. Vaccination stops the pandemic,” Iohannis said, according to Agerpres.
Starting Monday, pupils will go on vacation for a period of two weeks
The head of state also announced on Wednesday that, starting Monday, pupils will go on vacation for a period of two weeks.
“It is obvious that schools are severely affected both through the pupils who are infected (with SARS-CoV-2), but also by staff and teachers who get sick. Normally, starting Monday, there will be a holiday for the little ones. It was decided today that this holiday will be valid not only for the primary cycle, but also for the secondary schools and high schools for two weeks. So, starting Monday, it is a school holiday,” Iohannis declared at the Cotroceni Palace after the working meeting with government officials on the management of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mask will become mandatory everywhere, mobility will be restricted during nighttime, except for the persons who are vaccinated
President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday, after a working meeting with government officials, which focused on the COVID-19 epidemic, that, starting next week, more restrictions will be put in place to stop the pandemic. Thus, the mask will become mandatory to wear “everywhere,” mobility will be restricted during nighttime, except for the persons who are vaccinated, the same as the access to various activities, which will only be allowed based on the green certificate.
“Until you are all convinced that you need to get vaccinated, unfortunately, we need to impose these restrictions, to take care of the most vulnerable (..) When talking about individual protection, it is no coincidence that we came with a mask. Starting on Monday, the mask becomes compulsory to wear everywhere, again. You have to wear a mask, both indoor and outdoor, at school and at fairs, at the cinema, when you walk on the street, it will be mandatory to wear a mask. It is unfortunate, but we need to impose restrictions, which will enter into force on Monday. The Government will decide, in the shortest while, on Friday, in very concrete terms, what will be the exact restrictions coming into force. This will happen after the National Committee and experts will establish all the details and transpose them into legal terms,” said Iohannis, at the Cotroceni Palace.
The President also gave other examples of restrictions that will come into force on Monday.
“I want to give you some examples, but I will not cover all restrictions. For instance, mobility during nighttime will be restricted for those who are unvaccinated, except for those who can prove they are outside for work purposes. During the day, access to most activities will only be allowed based on the green certificate, with the unvaccinated to face, unfortunately, a lot of restrictions. The situation will improve gradually, as more people will understand to get vaccinated so that we can overcome this pandemic,” added the head of state, according to Agerpres.
