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The Secretary of State of the Ministry of the Interior, Raed Arafat, explained why it was necessary to close the shops at 6:00 p.m. and called on employers to change the working hours of employees or resort to teleworking.
“The problem arose, when there were discussions within the technical-scientific group, of a certain time interval for the traffic ban. And it was the idea of 8 pm, Monday to Friday and 6 pm from Saturday to Sunday. And in stores, on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and the rest of the weekend, at 4:00 p.m. After discussions within the National Committee, after arriving at the National Committee, it was time to stay at 8 pm and the stores at 6 pm because logically the situation is that at 8 pm the world will be at home. It means that, if the store closes at 6:00 p.m., it has two more people who pay, until they leave, until the employees leave, they already reach the limit, at 8:00 p.m. at home. That’s the logic of those aspects, ”Raed Arafat said Friday night, according to News.ro.
Arafat explained that if the stores remained open until 10 pm, people would still have circulated with a statement at their own risk.
“If we had left the stores until 10pm, it is a traffic ban, it means that there is a logic break here because that means that at 8pm they have to be home, but the stores remain open until 10pm. This means that many people will make paper and statement on their own responsibility to say that I am going to the store and the whole measure then diminishes its effect. Unfortunately, this is not a pleasant measure, we know. Now the impact of this measure, of limiting store hours and limiting the degree of traffic, is expected to reduce mobility, reduce contact. Of course, those who don’t come to the store on Friday night, they have Saturday until 6pm, they have Sunday until 6pm. The shops are open, they only stop at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. for traffic, ”Arafat also told Digi24.
When asked about queuing at stores before 6pm, Raed Arafat said that employers could take action on telecommuting or change employee hours.
Normally this measure is combined with the measures that existed, the postponement of working hours. There should be more groups coming to work, working as much as possible during this period. I have people who come at 6.30, leave around 2.30 pm, others who come at 2 pm and leave late at night, ”said Arafat.
The Secretary of State was also asked if there is the possibility of recalculating these restrictions, he replied that the restrictions can be adapted according to the evolution of COVID-19.
“I am not taking it alone (the decision to relax the restrictions – no) because there is a technical working group. Any measure can be analyzed after a period of time and if the measure proves to be adaptable, it can be adapted. This has always been the case. If there is a need to adapt for the better, of course we can adapt, no problem, ”said Arafat.
Raed Arafat also said that the number of cases entering Covid hospitals is greater than the number of cases leaving these hospitals.
“Of the number of daily cases, there is a significant percentage that reaches the hospital. If we have 5,000-6,000 cases a day, it means that a percentage reaches the ATI, a percentage in intermediate care departments, those that have oxygen. The hospital discharge rate is slower than the hospitalization rate. The number of incoming cases is greater than the number of outgoing cases, especially in ATI. And then there is pressure on these sections. Now there are hospitals that have opened additional spaces (…) If we do not limit the occurrence of cases, we run the risk, again, of getting stuck, if not now, in a week – two again we run the risk of being stuck, whether a plateau or a decline that will endure, ”said Raed Arafat.
The authorities have imposed new rules for cities where the incidence rate is higher than 4 per thousand, applicable on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Shops close at 18:00 and traffic is prohibited after 20:00.
