Last updated: 29 July 2020
At the end of long controversies and public debates on the restrictive measures imposed by the Government in the context of the fight against the spread of the SARS-CoV2 virus, in particular with regard to the placement under quarantine and isolation of people, the Parliament adopted the Law n ° 136/2020 concerning measures in the field of public health, published in the Official Gazette n ° 634 of July 18, 2020.
The Order of the Minister of Health n ° 1309 of July 21, 2020, published in the Official Gazette of July 22, 2020, came with additional clarification.
Here below, there are the main legal provisions that came into force on July 21, 2020 and July 22, 2020:
PLACEMENT OF PERSONS UNDER QUARANTINE
The following categories of people shall be placed under quarantine during the incubation period specific to the infectious disease, with the prior consent of the concerned persons:
a) people who have been in direct contact with one or several persons confirmed to be infected SARS –CoV-2 virus, as a result of the RT - PCR test;
b) people returning from countries or areas with high epidemiological risk or from countries and areas banned by the National Institute of Public Health.
The updated list of countries for which quarantine is imposed, valid from 27.07.2020 is available here.
Concerned people can be placed under quarantine either at their household, at a place at their choice, as appropriate, or in special premises provided for by the authorities for people suspected of being infected or carrying a highly dangerous pathogenic agent..
If the concerned person refuses to be placed under quarantine or leaves the confinement premises irrespective of their prior agreement thereupon, the doctor or, as the case may be, the control bodies recommend, and the representative of the Directorate of Health Public decides to place the person in isolation, in a place specially designated by the authorities, if an imminent risk of community transmission of an infectious disease (including the Covid-19 virus) is ascertained.
The decision is made by the Health Department within 8 hours since the communication made by the doctor or by the supervisory bodies, as the case may be, and must be immediately communicated to the person concerned. Until the Health Directorate issues its decision, the person concerned must remain in confinement.
ISOLATION OF PEOPLE
The isolation of people showing signs and symptoms of infection with the Covid-19 virus and asymptomatic carriers of the virus is imposed - with the consent of these people - by the doctor for a period that cannot exceed 48 hours, for the purpose of carrying out paraclinical and clinical biological examinations.
Such people can be isolated in:
a) health premises specially set up for such proposes by the Ministry of Health
b) an alternative location assigned to a sanitary unit
c) at home or in another declared location, for asymptomatic patients, after clinical and paraclinical evaluation, for a period of 14 days from the date of diagnosis.
If the persons concerned refuse the isolation measure recommended by the doctor, the latter must inform, as the case may be, the Departmental or Bucharest Public Health Directorate, which renders a decision within 2 hours maximum confirming or invalidating enforcement of the isolation measure as advised by the physician. If case of affirmative decision, the isolation measure can be implemented in a health unit or in an alternative location. The decision has an individual character and is communicated promptly to the concerned person.
In order to avoid the spread of an infectious disease, until a potential annulment decision is rendered by a court aimed at annulling the litigious administrative act, the concerned person is not allowed to leave the isolation place without the agreement of the doctor or the representative of the public health service.
Depending on the case, the extension the isolation measure beyond the 48 hours mentioned above may be advised by the doctor. In this case, the doctor must follow the same procedure if the patient refuses the extended isolation measure, by notifying, as the case may be, the County Health Directorate or of the Municipality of Bucharest.
The term of isolation measure established by the doctor who previously decided to extend the isolation ends on the date of confirmation of the person's recovery on the basis of clinical and paraclinical examinations or on the recommendation of the doctor who ascertains that the risk of transmission of the disease no longer exists.
CHALLENGE OF THE QUARANTINE / ISOLATION MEASURE
Any person aimed at by an individual administrative act concerning quarantine or isolation measure may lodge a challenge before the Court against such measure within a maximum 24 hours from receipt of the decision from the Directorate of the Public health. Until delivery of the court decision, the person in question will be monitored daily by the doctor. The court decision must be rendered as soon as possible… within maximum 48 hours….
REGIONAL / ZONAL QUARANTINE INSTITUTION
According to the law and the Order of the Minister of Health, zonal quarantine can be declared by decision of the Department for Emergency Situations on the basis of the analysis of 8 factors, among which the most important are:
a) An upward trend in infections over the past 14 days in the area / region / locality
b) A level of infection of the population above the alert level (3 cases / 1000 inhabitants)
c) Insufficient medical staff to carry out epidemiological investigations
d) Lack of cooperation on the part of the population of the affected area with respect to the 14-day home isolation regime, in case of close contact with an infected and confirmed person.
NEW SANITARY MEASURES STARTING FROM 1ST AUGUST
According to the Government’s decision, made on grounds of the guidelines of the National Committee for Emergencies, new health measures will come into force from August 1.
- Obligation to wear the protective mask in crowded outdoor public spaces (e.g. markets and fairs, pedestrian areas for walks, around tourist points, etc.), in certain time intervals, depending on the decision of each local competent authority local; this obligation concerns anyone older than 5, with some small exceptions;
- Closure of terraces and bars as well as game premises from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- Limitation of the number of customers present on the terraces and in the bars in accordance with the number of chairs available