BUCHAREST RESTRICTIONS OCTOBER 2021

ALL RESTRICTIONS ARE LIFTED IN BUCHAREST – UPDATE MARCH 2022!

UPDATE DECEMBER 2021: see the rules for foreign tourist coming to Romania from December 10, 2021 to January 8, 2022. 

UPDATE OCTOBER 25, 2021: there are bad news and good news. New restrictions come into force from Monday, October 25 in Romania. The new restrictions will, obviously, applied in Bucharest, too. The good news is that more and more people are getting vaccinated against SARS-COV 2. 

GOOD TO KNOW FOR EXPATS AND FOREIGN TRAVELERS IN BUCHAREST

What is important for you to know if you live in Bucharest as an expat or if you plan to travel to Bucharest in the following 30 days about the restrictions in Bucharest. 

• Shops will be opened only from 5 AM to 9 PM. 
• Only vaccinated people or owner of the green certificate will be allowed to get out after 10 PM. Are excepted those who must go to work and have a proof about it. 
• Protection mask will be mandatory everywhere. Only if you go in the park for jogging you may not wear it. 
• Only vaccinated people or owner of green pass are allowed into malls, including shops and cinemas inside malls( we went yesterday too watch Dune at a mall and we needed the green pass, so some restrictions are already in force). 
• Children who cannot get vaccinated due to their age( under 12) are not allowed in shops and malls unless they come with a person with green pass. 
• Everyone is allowed to enter food stores( not in malls) and drugstores, but only wearing mask, keeping distance and so on. 
• Concerts are not allowed. 
• Visitors’ access into public buildings are allowed only with green card or the proof you got rid of the virus. 
• No workshops, weddings are allowed. This restriction might be over after 30 days, which means in November. 
• Food delivery is allowed after 9 PM. 

COUNTRIES IN THE COVID RED AREA WHICH MEANS QUARANTINE

Authorities have made an update to the list of the countries where the infection rate is high, so the people coming from there to Romania have to enter quarantine for 14 days if they do not have a green pass or a proof they got rid of the disease. Here it is. We shall update it weekly: 

• Serbia, Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, Estonia, Anguilla, Barbados, Man Isle, Guam, Belize, Montenegro, UK, Singapore, Slovenia, Armenia, Mongolia, Gibraltar, Turkey, Bulgaria, Grenada, Croatia, Moldavia, Slovakia, Ireland, Antigua and Barbuda, Ukraine, USA, Cuba, Malaysia, Belgium, Belarus, Austria, Greece, Costa Rica, Brazil, South Africa and India. For people coming to Romania from these countries, the negative test is no longer useful for not entering into quarantine.  

OLD NEWS: Due to high infection rate in Bucharest, authorities decided that, from October 3, 2021 until a new lowing infection rate, these are the rules in the Romanian capital:

• from 8 PM to 5 AM are allowed to leave their home only the vaccinated persons. The others need special papers from employers. 
• from 10 PM to 5 AM shops are closed. 
• protection mask is mandatory everywhere, but especially on crowded places. *You may not wear the mask if you are on the street alone or playing sports alone or together with family or people you share the same home.  
• cinemas and concert halls will be opened only for vaccinated people and only on half of the place, the same rule for fitness clubs. 

Old news: On the 13th of May, 2021, authorities decided it is time for less restrictions in Bucharest, due to the fact that covid infection rate fell under 1.5 at 1.000 inhabitants for more than 3 days. So, restaurants are allowed to be half opened( 50% of capacity) inside. Cinemas, ballrooms and theaters are also allowed to be half opened. Casinos, too. Also public events with no more than 300 people are also allowed.  All these measures are in force starting with Friday, the 14th of May. To mention that in Bucharest about 40% of the inhabitants took at least the first anti-covid vaccine.  

Update April 2021: Restaurants and pubs are allowed to open with 30% of their tables with clients. Also, theaters. This is after the infection rate with covind 19 in Bucharest fell under 3 at 1,000 inhabitants. They can be open until 9 P.M. We are also allowed to stay outside in Bucharest until 10 P.M. , of course if we do not have a paper from our employer that we needed to be out at the moment, or if we do not have any medical emergency. Private parties are still forbidden. 

UPDATE: April 27, 2021. From Tuesday, April 27, in Bucharest fitness clubs are open, due to the fact that the infection rate fell under 3.5 at 1.000 persons. Shops will be also open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until 9 PM. Yet, restaurants remains closed inside, pubs are closed too, just like clubs. Terraces are open. We are allowed to stay outside until 10 PM. In Easter night, it will be free for anyone to stay outside, of course, if coming or going to church. 

LESS RESTRICTIONS IN BUCHAREST FROM APRIL 27

OLD NEWS WHICH CAN BE NEW AGAIN IN THE INFECTION RATE RISES ABOVE 3.5. For the covid 19 spreads again and again in Bucharest, authorities decided to apply new rules and restrictions in the city at leas until the spreading of the disease fall under 3.5% at 1.000 inhabitants. So, from this Sunday, which is March 28, 2021, we are going back somehow in time in March 2020, though the restrictions are not so bad as they were one year ago. 

GOVERNMENT BUCHAREST

COVID RULES IN BUCHAREST SINCE MARCH 28

So, since March 29, 2021, in Bucharest, we have to be careful about these points: shopping before 6 P.M in week-end and 8 P.M. in the rest of the days. Restrictions starts from Friday. But, let’s translate the authorities’ decisions because many times it happened to be misunderstandings. 

BUCHAREST PARLIAMENT

THE NEW RULES AGAINST COVID IN BUCHAREST IN 2021

• You are not allowed to get out of the house from 10 PM to 5 AM from Monday to Thursday( see the exceptions bellow).

• You are not allowed to get out of the house from 8 PM to 5 AM from Friday to Sunday( see also exceptions bellow). 

• Shops may be opened from 5 AM to 9 PM from Monday to Thursday, so make sure you have all you need for cooking and rest in this period. 

• Shops may be opened from 5 AM to 6 PM from Friday to Sunday. 

• You can order food, for example, from 9 PM to 5 AM, from Monday to Thursday. 

• You can order food from 6 PM to 5 AM. Attention! The restaurants you order from must have contract with delivery companies. 

• No inside restaurants are allowed. 

• No fitness places are allowed. 

• If you go to market, make sure you respect the 2 m distance to other clients. 

• Casinos and other places for games are closed. So, are the restaurants and pubs in hotels. The clients of the hotels are allowed inside. 

• No concerts or other public events are allowed. 

• Everywhere you go in public spaces, you must wear protection mask. 

EXCEPTIONS FROM NEW COVID RULES IN BUCHAREST 2021

There are, of course, exceptions for Bucharest. You are allowed to walk freely in the forbidden hours in Bucharest when you really need to. Our piece of advice is not to push too hard the limits. You might meet the police. To mention: these restrictions will be in force since the rate of virus spreading is still under 7.5% / 1.000 persons. If worse, we may have to face new restrictions. So, when we can get out:

• You can go out any time when you go to work( ask your employer for the right paper to show the police if necessary). 

• You can go out any time you have a medical problem. Just explain the situation to the authorities and they will surely understand. 

• You can go out if you have to get the anti-covid vaccine, but you will have to show your reservation. 

• You can go out if you need to take care of a baby or a person in need. 

• You can go out if you need to get to Bucharest just to get somewhere else, like Istanbul or US and so on. You have the tickets, so you are alright. 

• You can go out with your pet, but make sure you don’t go too far from your home. 

WHEN RESTRICTIONS MIGHT BE OVER IN BUCHAREST

The new restrictions against covid 19 in Bucharest might be over when the infection rate fall under 3.5 at 1.000 persons. NOW the infection rate is 6.88. If it will increase to 7.5, we might face new restrictions. Keep calm and stay safe and we’ll get over it.