PM Ludovic Orban had a meeting on Monday with the HoReCa representatives, with a preliminary deal on the terraces and cafes re-opening in Romania from June 1 under safety conditions. Hotels might also re-open as of June 15 if an agreement is also reached in this respect.
“The PM’s promise is June 1 for terraces and June 15 for the summer season (…) if there are no major side-slips in the number of infections”, said Daniel Mischie, CEO City Grill, who attended the talks.
PM Orban had previously stated that terraces will remain closed during the state of alert, meaning until June 15.
In his turn, Mohammad Murad, president of the Federation of Tourism Employers, said that there is an agreement to open cafes and terraces of of June 1, while hotels as of June 15. “We are taking all necessary measures so that the summer season on the seaside should open as of June 15. We have the PM’s pledge on the technical unemployment, on decreasing rents on the beach, on the re-employment bonus“, Murad told Antena 3.
Another employer in the HoReCa industry, Dragos Petrescu said that terraces will officially open from June 1, and restaurants will partially resume their indoor activity from June 15 and entirely as of June 30, including hotels for tourists.
“We’ll have tables at 2 metres distance, maximum 6-8 people sitting at a table, epidemiological triage for the staff and certain restaurants can provide epidemiological triage for the customers as well”, Petrescu said.
The waiter will have to disinfect himself after every serving. Waiters will wear protective gloves and facemasks.
However, Government sources said there are just talks for now, with nothing for sure.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the hospitality sector is expected to face losses of EUR 2.4 billion of the total turnover, as the Employers Organisation of Hotels and Restaurants in Romania has reported. Out of the total 400,000 employees in this sector, 320,000 will be laid off.