BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romania’s government has placed the eastern town of Suceava and eight surrounding villages under quarantine to limit the spread of the coronavirus, with more than a quarter of all cases in the country located in the area, Interior Minister Marcel Vela said late on Monday.
The European Union state, which has recorded 2,109 coronavirus infections and 65 deaths, declared a state of emergency on March 16.
With a population of around 100,000, Suceava has 593 cases and a third of all deaths. More than half of the country’s 285 infected doctors, nurses and other medical staff were in Suceava, officials said.
Health Minister Nelu Tataru said the spread was caused by poor management and people not respecting self-isolation rules.
The quarantine will last until mid-April at the end of the 30-day emergency period. Movements in the rest of the country have been restricted for almost a week.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
