Mask wearing on city streets could become compulsory in the country if the number of Covid-19 cases remains high, Raed Arafat, the head of Romania’s Emergency Services Department, told television station Digi24. 

“It is a possibility; I don’t want this interpreted and people saying ‘Arafat said masks [everywhere] starting tomorrow,’ but such a decision could be close if the situation doesn’t go under control and if we keep having people who fool themselves,” Arafat told Digi24.

Such a measure could be taken in certain areas if the number of infections continues to grow, he explained.

Masks are currently mandatory in crowded public places, at certain hours. Several counties with higher infection rates are contemplating making face masks mandatory in all public places, especially in those localities that could enter quarantine. 

Arafat explained that the infection is most easily contracted in indoor venues, poorly ventilated, or crowded places with poor ventilation. 

“The mask is a way to protect the healthy one but also to prevent the infected person, who often doesn’t know they are infected (the asymptomatic), from spreading the illness. Wearing a mask prevents us from harming others,” Arafat said.

When both the infected and the healthy person wear a mask, the risk of contracting the illness is lower because the healthy person is exposed to lower viral load, as opposed to the case of not wearing masks, he explained.

“This is an illness with simple prevention measures: wearing a mask, distancing, following some basic hygiene rules. If we all wear a mask where we have to and follow the rules, we already limit the spread significantly, and we can stop an exponential spread,” he said.

Romania recorded 3,130 coronavirus cases on Thursday, October 8, the highest daily count since the start of the pandemic. The total number of cases reached 145,700, and 113,112 patients have recovered so far.

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simona@romania-insider.com