Romania’s Sibiu goes into lockdown on Monday

The city and its surroundings have the highest incidence rate of COVID-19 cases in Romania

The city of Sibiu, located in central Romania, will be going into lockdown on Monday, 16 November, in an attempt to limit the spread of COVID-19 among its population. While national authorities across the country have already introduced a number of measures to combat the disease, specific and region-locked rules and restrictions are being introduced in different parts of Romania to combat outbreaks of different intensity.

Going hard to save lives and protect citizens

The decision for imposing the lockdown was announced yesterday evening, 13 November, by the head of Romania’s Emergency Service Department, Raed Arafat. According to his statement, the entirety of Sibiu and its surroundings will be placed in lockdown come Monday. The rules will apply to Sibiu proper as well as the localities of Șelimbăr, Tălmaciu and Cisnădie.

An additional part of the newly introduced measures, starting today all malls and non-essential shops in the regions will be closed on weekends. The only exceptions are grocery stores, pet shops and pharmacies.

The specific rules of the new lockdown in the region of Sibiu include the closing of all shops at 8 PM on both weekdays and weekends, a reduction of their intake capacities, limiting them at 1 person per 8 square metres and the creation of green corridors for the elderly, who will have exclusive rights to shop between 10 AM and 1 PM.

This new set of rules will initially be in effect for a period of 14 days, after which authorities will reassess the situations and will decide whether the lockdown needs to be extended even further. With its imposition, Sibiu has become the fourth county seat in Romania placed under quarantine, following Baia Mare, Zalau, and Slobozia.