Romania will remain under the state of alert for at least 30 more days starting 14 November
The general rules and restrictions imposed by the Government are enforced based on the level of incidence of cases in each county and in the capital city during the last 14 days. In the level of incidence of cases during the last 14 days is under 1.5‰ restaurants, cafes, cinemas, theatres, libraries can operate at 50% of their normal capacity. If the level of incidence of cases during the last 14 days is between 1.5‰ and 3‰ restaurants, cafes, cinemas, theatres, libraries can operate at 30% of their normal capacity. If the level of incidence of cases during the last 14 days is over 3‰ restaurants, cafes, cinemas, theatres, libraries will be closed for at least 14 days. More than half the counties have reached the 3‰ level. In cases where the incidence level is higher, local authorities can decide to quarantine the affected cities or even the entire county. As of November the 16th two large cities have been placed under quarantine and decisions on other large cities are expected to be taken during the next days.
Starting November the 9th people’s movement between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. is only allowed for justified reasons. All schools are closed and all educational activities are performed online. The use of protective masks in all outdoor areas is mandatory all over the country. Indoor markets are closed. No public or private celebrations are allowed. Public gatherings are restricted to 100 people and are subject to safety measures.
In quarantined cities people’s movement is restricted during the entire day, except for justified reasons. Shopping malls will be closed. Grocery stores and pharmacies within shopping mall will however be allowed to continue to operate.
General and sectorial safety rules on operating the businesses during the state of alert continue to apply. The use of protective masks is still mandatory at the workplace with the exception of employees that do not share a working space with anybody, employees that are performing activities in conditions of extreme temperatures or that require a great amount of physical activity and also employees with health conditions that may lead to respiratory difficulties if they use protective masks. Additional individual protective gear may be required for specific employees with high exposure to risk factors. Soap and disinfectants should be widely and readily available to employees.
The Government issued an ordinance stating that work from home where possible should be enforced. Employer with over 50 employees should also make changes in the working hours in order to prevent the overcrowding of public transport. The local labor inspectorates conduct frequent checks on the way the employers enforce these rules.
Also applicable during the extended state of alert period the employer’s obligation to properly inform the employees on the safety rules, the obligation to ensure that the employees follow the mandatory rules and to check the temperature of all employees at the beginning of the working program and will not allow any employee that has a temperature higher than 37.3°C to enter the workplace. Also the employer will not allow any employee that presents respiratory infection symptoms to enter the workplace.
During the state of alert the employer can still issue work from home decisions. The employee’s consent is no longer necessary. The employer can change the place of the activity of the employees and their responsibilities, with the consent of the employee.
Collective agreements will remain enforced during the state of alert and an additional period of 90 days after the state of alert will end. Collective negotiations will commence within 45 days of the date when the state of alert will end.
For more information on these articles or any other issues involving labour and employment matters in Romania, please contact Magda Volonciu (Partner) of Magda Volonciu & Asociatii at magdavolonciu@volonciu.ro or visit www.volonciu.ro.
