Approximately 3,000 anti-vaccination protesters from all over Romania have converged outside the parliament building in Bucharest, while authorities have announced new restrictions amid rising COVID-19 infections.
BUCHAREST, Romania – About 3,000 anti-vaccination protesters across Romania have converged outside the Bucharest parliament building on Sunday, as authorities announced new restrictions amid rising COVID-19 infections.
Less than six weeks have passed since COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed in Bucharest, but growing infections have led authorities to reinstate stricter restrictions for a period of 14 days, starting Monday.
Restrictions will close bars, restaurants, theaters, gambling venues and cafes, as the capital’s infection rate has risen by more than three cases per 1,000 inhabitants over a 14-day period – effectively entering a ” red scenario ”, which the authorities use as a threshold to manage both the restrictions and the spread of the virus.
Many protesters waved 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 spoke out against compulsory vaccination.
The new restrictions will cause many schools in the capital to return to online learning, while nurseries, pupils in primary schools and those in grades VIII to XII will continue to attend physical school, in some cases operating only at half capacity.
“I’ve already been through this and I’ve survived,” Andreea Beca, who owns 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 hope for the best,” she said.
Tougher measures will be imposed at the same time in the western city of Timișoara, a city with over 400,000 inhabitants, which will be quarantined after its infection rate increases from seven to 1,000 inhabitants.
In quarantined areas, residents are required to complete an official form stating the reason for their move. Across the country, there is a light application heel applied between 23:00 and 06:00
Many former communist countries in Eastern Europe are fighting vaccine skepticism, with immunization campaigns being carried out slowly across Europe.
According to a government website, over 1.7 million people in Romania have received a COVID-19 vaccine.
Romania – a country of over 19 million people – has registered over 828,000 COVID-19 infections, and 20,900 people have died.