More than 5,600 people were fined for leaving the house without having any supporting documents or without a good reason, the Romanian Police announced on Thursday, after the first day of total quarantine in the country. The total value of the fines exceeds RON 7.4 million (EUR 1.54 mln).

Over 12,000 policemen made filters on Wednesday throughout Romania to check those who left their homes.

Starting Wednesday, March 25, at noon, Romanians who leave their homes must show to the authorities either a statement on their own responsibility or certificates from their employers.

Romanians can leave their houses only for a few reasons

There are only a few reasons why leaving the house is allowed, according to Military Ordinance 3, adopted on Tuesday evening, March 24. These exceptions are as follows:

a) travel in professional interest, including between home/household and the place of work and back;

b) travel to provide goods that cover the basic needs of the persons and the pets, as well as goods necessary for the professional activity;

c) travel for healthcare that cannot be postponed or performed remotely;

d) displacement for justified reasons, such as caring/accompanying the child, the assistance of elderly, sick or disabled persons or death of a family member;

e) short trips, near the house/household, related to the individual physical activity of the persons (excluding any team sports activities), as well as to the needs of the pets;

f) movement for blood donation, to blood transfusion centers;

g) travel for humanitarian or voluntary purposes;

h) travel for agricultural activities;

i) displacement of agricultural producers for the marketing of agri-food products.

For point a), employees need to show certificates from their employers. For the other points b) to i), people need to show a statement on their own responsibility with the reason for moving outside the household. The statement must either be printed and filled in handwriting or saved on the phone or tablet. The electronic version of the statement can be found here.

Some try to bend the rules

Romanians are known to be very creative when it comes to bending the rules or using any loopholes they see in mandatory regulations. Some have also tried to do the same with the movement restrictions.

“We’ve had situations where citizens were holding a fish in the bag and they said they had taken their pet out for a walk. It's a real story. Or we’ve had a situation where someone took the cat for a ride 30 kilometers from home, on the back seat of the car. People are inventive, but, in one form or another, we have to be aware that we can only steal our hat if we break these rules,” Cosmin Andreica, leader of the policemen’s union Europol told Digi24.ro.

The Police also found a young woman with a cat in her bag, who told them she was going to the mall. The girl said she resorted to this option because "the military ordinance does not cover all the people’s needs", and she went to the other side of the city, with the cat in her bag - as an insurance policy, because she wanted to look at some new clothes, according to Libertatea.ro.

All those who tried to circumvent the rules received fines between RON 100 and RON 500.

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos / George Calin)