Thousands of Romanians crowded to enter the country on its western land border points this past weekend, Stiri.tvr.ro reported. Many of them crossed the border on foot, while car queues were several kilometres long.  

The crossing of the borders took more time because of the high number of people and the epidemiological triage, the authorities said. 

Starting May 15, all people arriving in Romania from abroad are quarantined or isolated at home. Those who cannot do this or request it can opt to go into institutionalized quarantine, in venues provided by the authorities. 

Commenting on the situation, prime minister Ludovic Orban said it was a wave of Romanians who returned to the country after learning that the institutionalized quarantine is no longer compulsory. He explained that over 1,200 people arrived as pedestrians, News.ro reported.

On the morning of Sunday, May 17, the waiting time upon entering at Nădlac I, where seven lanes were open, amounted to 480 minutes, the Arad Border Police said. At Nădlac II, where six lanes were open, the waiting time was of 250 minutes.

On Sunday, 22,500 people entered Romania, with 16,900 crossing the border with Hungary to enter the country, the Border Police announced, quoted by News.ro. At the same time, 16,000 people exited the country. 

Seven thousand people were sent into isolation, the Border Police said. The main border points were this happened are Nădlac I, Nădlac II, Varşand, and Bors.

Starting with Sunday, the traffic was also redirected towards two other border crossing points, namely Vărşand, in Arad county, and Petea, in Satu Mare county.

(Photo: Politia de Frontiera Romana Facebook Page)

editor@romania-insider.com