About 3,000 anti-vaccination protesters from all over Romania converged outside the parliament building in Bucharest while authorities announced new restrictions amid an increase in COVID-19 infections
BUCHAREST, Romania – About 3,000 anti-vaccination protesters from all over Romania converged in front of the parliament building in Bucharest on Sunday, while authorities announced new restrictions amid an increase in COVID-19 infections.
Less than six weeks have passed since the COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed in Bucharest, but the rise in infections has prompted authorities to re-enforce stricter restrictions for a period of 14 days from Monday.
Restrictions will cause bars, restaurants, theaters, gambling houses and cafes to close the indoor spaces, as the capital’s infection rate has risen to more than three cases per 1,000 inhabitants in a 14-day period – effectively entering one. “red scenario”, used by the authorities as a limit to manage the restrictions and the spread of the virus.
Many protesters waved Romanian flags and shouted “freedom” and “down the mask”. A large sign said, “Say no to forced vaccination.”
The demonstration was attended by George Simion, leader of Romania’s far-right AUR party, who spoke out against mandatory vaccination.
The new restrictions will cause many schools in the capital to return to online education, while day care centers, elementary and 8th to 12th grade students will continue with physical care, in some cases operating at only half capacity.
“We’ve been through this 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 are placing orders online – we can only hope for the best,” she said.
Stricter measures will be imposed at the same time in the city of Timisoara, a city with more than 400,000 inhabitants, which will be quarantined after its infection rate increases to more than seven per 1,000 inhabitants.
In quarantined areas, inhabitants are required to complete an official form stating the reason for their movement. Across the country, there is a slightly imposed curfew between 11 pm and 6 am
Many former communist countries in Eastern Europe are battling vaccine skepticism as immunization campaigns are slowly launched across Europe.
According to a government website, more than 1.7 million people in Romania received the COVID-19 vaccine.
Romania – a country with more than 19 million inhabitants – registered more than 828,000 COVID-19 infections and 20,900 people died.