Cav's Place

With Alexandru Rafila now calling for a national lockdown for one month, announced some time in advance, so people and businesses will have time to prepare, I wonder if it can be said that leading politicians are finally echoing the calls which have been coming from the medical field ever since this fourth wave started. He was PSD’s proposal for Prime Minister and may well be again if it’ll come to it, but he is in fact a leading representative of the medical field and was Romania’s representative at the World Health Organization, joining PSD to enter Parliament and have more of a say, though I doubt that worked out as well as he hoped, since they’re in the opposition. Still, they do listen to what he says when it comes to medical matters, so let’s see what PSD’s position will be from now on… One problem being that if they call for something, USR is likely to go against that idea, so the voices from USR that call for more restrictions and may well also call for a lockdown may in fact be silenced by PSD adopting that position. Not that what USR asks for matters too much anymore, with PNL determined to keep them out of a new Government and try to form a minority one, only with UDMR. And, not that PNL wouldn’t be firmly against another lockdown or even some more effective restrictions anyway, but PSD asking for something would quite clearly make them be firmly against that thing. And there’s also the fact that this is the first week since the start of this fourth wave without a new record of cases or deaths, but with records of vaccinations, people finally flooding to the centers again, albeit mainly to avoid the restrictions.
Speaking of those restrictions, those who aren’t vaccinated and also didn’t go through the disease within the past 180 days can’t go outside between 10 PM and 5 AM except for work, medical matters and a few other specific purposes; attend protests or similar events, which are limited to a maximum of 100 participants even if they are immunized; take part in group sports or recreational activities, which are limited to a maximum of ten participants who don’t live together even if they are immunized; take part in any other activities or events, with the exception of religious ones; or enter stores or other businesses, with the exception of stores that sell food or drinks, without serving it, and pharmacies. Also, a certificate of any kind, so including the one obtained after a negative test, is required for visitors to enter public institutions, other public buildings, or private office buildings where more than 50 people work at the same time, again with exceptions for places that only sell food or drinks and religious and some legal activities, and with the institutions and businesses being urged to find ways to allow everyone to take care of some urgent matters, for example on-line or outdoors. However, the part about entering malls or other commercial spaces only with the certificate was somehow “forgotten” and not listed in the original decision, an issue which was corrected on Monday, so it came into effect on Tuesday… And some hypermarkets located inside malls or shopping centers already tried to get around it by creating special corridors for those without a certificate, which would be allowed to enter hypermarkets but not shopping centers. They were fined for it, as it was stated from the beginning that this won’t be allowed, but now they’re putting an increasing amount of pressure to have that decision changed.
Another proposal would extend the certificate requirement to workers as well, in the health field, public and private, also authorities and public and public interest institutions, and also companies where more than 50 people work at the same time, so those who refuse the vaccine and didn’t go through the disease within the past 180 days would have to get an antigen test every 48 hours or a PCR one every 72 hours. After quite a scandal, it fell two votes shy of being passed in the Senate, three USR Senators, USR having announced their support for the measure, being unable to attend, and two PNL Senators, PNL having put the proposal forward, abstaining. But the Chamber of Deputies has the actual decision.
Either way, other restrictions apply to everyone, and include the requirement to wear masks everywhere, with exceptions for sports or other physically demanding activities, those who are alone in the office, TV show hosts and guests who are at least three meters apart, or religious representatives during religious activities as long as, again, they are three meters apart; a school holiday for two weeks, starting with kindergartens, though this was also messed up at first and private educational institutions were not included in the initial form, the matter also being corrected on Monday; businesses and institutions needing to close between 9 PM and 5 AM, with the exception of delivery activities; bars and clubs being closed; private events, like weddings, baptisms, workshops or concerts, being banned; spectators not being allowed at sports events; places that serve food or drinks needing to operate at 50% capacity; cultural institutions, entertainment venues, gyms, gambling places, indoor pools, playgrounds and fairs being limited to 30% capacity; institutions and businesses being urged to have at least 50% of employees work from home or, if not possible, to have their employees work in shifts. Exceptions are for pharmacies, gas stations, delivery businesses and those in the transport sector, which can all continue to operate normally, and for religious activities, the only requirements there being to have two square meters for each participant, whether indoors or outdoors, supposedly because religious activities were also considered “essential”.
I might have missed or mixed up a few things, writing this in a hurry, but the fact remains that these measures are far from enough. They’d have been far from enough even at the start of this fourth wave, and they’re even more insufficient now, if I may use that term, the price for not enacting the necessary ones continuing to be paid in illness and death, plus the collapse of the medical system, the extreme burden placed on health workers, as well as all sorts of financial and economic costs, direct and indirect, for those who are interested in that sort of thing. But when the necessary measures would be highly unpopular and also go against some very short-term, and terribly nearsighted, economic interests, and the politicians continue to be focused on their current battle for power, there isn’t much hope for things to move in that direction even from now on.