Around 3,000 protesters against vaccination across Romania have converged outside the parliament building in Bucharest as authorities announce new restrictions amid rising COVID-19 infections
BUCHAREST, Romania – Around 3,000 vaccine protesters from across Romania converged on Sunday outside the parliament building in Bucharest as authorities announced new restrictions amid rising COVID-19 infections.
It has been less than six weeks since COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed in Bucharest, but rising infections have forced authorities to re-impose stricter restrictions for a period of 14 days from Monday.
The restrictions will see bars, restaurants, theaters, playgrounds and cafes close indoor spaces, as the capital’s infection rate rose by more than three cases per 1,000 inhabitants over a continuous period of 14 days, effectively entering a “red scenario” used by the authorities as a threshold to manage the restrictions and spread of the virus.
Many protesters brandished Romanian flags and chanted “freedom” and “down with the mask.” A large sign read, “Say no to forced vaccination.”
The demonstration was attended by George Simion, the leader of Romania’s far-right AUR party, who has spoken out against compulsory vaccination.
With the new restrictions, many schools in the capital will return to online learning, while nursery schools, primary and eighth to twelfth primary schools will continue to provide physical assistance, in some cases only halfway through. capacity.
“We’ve been through it and survived,” Andreea Beca, owner of a small bistro in downtown Bucharest, told The Associated Press.
“We also realized that maintaining the quality of our food is the most important criterion for our customers and that they place orders online; we can only expect the best,” he said.
At the same time, tougher measures will be imposed on the western city of Timisoara, a city of more than 400,000 inhabitants, which will go into quarantine after the infection rate exceeds seven per 1,000 residents.
In quarantined areas, residents are required to fill out an official form explaining the reason for their move. Across the country there is a slight curfew applied between 11pm and 6am
Many former communist countries in Eastern Europe are fighting vaccine skepticism, as vaccination campaigns are slowly unfolding across Europe.
According to a government website, more than 1.7 million people in Romania have received the COVID-19 vaccine.
Romania, a country of more than 19 million people, has recorded more than 828,000 COVID-19 infections and 20,900 people have died.