Employment Flash No. 15/2020 – News on the prolongation of the state of alert and on the applicable measures
17.07.2020 – The Government Decision no. 553/15.07.2020 on the prolongation of the state of alert on Romanian territory starting 17th of July 2020 and establishing the measures that apply for the prevention and fighting against the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been published within the Official Gazette no. 627 dated July 16th, 2020.
According to this normative act, the state of alert is prolonged on Romanian territory with 30 days starting the July 17th, 2020.
The measures applicable during the previous state of alert essentially maintain their content, the main relevant amendment being the elimination of the measures regarding quarantine/isolation that will be regulated by a separate act.
From an employment law perspective, we mention the following measures, as outlined within Annexes 1-3 to the decision at hand:
- the obligation to wear protective masks at the workplace, in compliance with the conditions set forth by ministerial order;
- the obligation of the economic operations to organize activity in such a manner that they insure, at the entry within headquarters, the mandatory epidemiological triage and disinfection of hands, for their personnel, as well as for visitors, in compliance with the conditions set forth by ministerial order;
- the obligation of economic operators that carry out activity in certain domains, as well as work-related activities within open space offices/common areas to comply with the specific norms set forth by ministerial order;
- the suspension or limitation of activity in certain domains, such as activity in pools, playgrounds, game halls, carried out within enclosed spaces or the consumption of food products, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in common food serving spaces from restaurants, hotels, motels, hostels, cafes and other such public places inside buildings;
- the prohibition to organize private events in enclosed spaces, except for those that are carried out with the participation of maximum 20 persons and in compliance with the social distancing rules (including organization of instruction courses and workshops for adults).
The decision also contains mentions regarding the various regulations setting forth measures applicable under the previous state of alert (e.g. by means of ministerial orders), that shall remain applicable as long as they do not contradict the measures set forth within Anexes no. 1-3 to the current decision.
The Romanian version of this newsletter is available here.
