BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romania’s capital Bucharest closed schools, restaurants and theatres from Tuesday and widened the compulsory use of face masks to all outdoor spaces across the city as infection rates soared.
The number of new daily coronavirus infections in Romania has risen by about 4,000 over the past week, taking the cumulative total to 182,854 on Monday, the government said.
Since the weekend, Bucharest’s cumulative infection rate exceeded the 3.0 cases per 1,000 people threshold over a two-week horizon.
A spokesperson for the Bucharest’s emergency situations committee said the measures will be reassessed after a 14-day period.
Since the outbreak began in February, 5,931 people have died in the country of 20 million, and about 132,082 recovered.
President Klaus Iohannis ordered a strict lockdown across Romania in March and while restrictions have been eased, masks have been already mandatory in public transport, indoor public spaces and any crowded outdoor areas such as farmers’ markets or bus stations since May 15.
The government reopened schools for 2.8 million children in mid-September after a six-month closure, ordering pupils to wear face masks.
(Reporting by Radu Marinas; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
