EU green certificate on COVID-19, mandatory for medical staff (Health Ministry draft law)

The Ministry of Health posted a draft law in decisional transparency, which states that the medical staff from health units with public and private beds has the obligation to present an EU digital certificate regarding COVID-19, in order to carry out their activity.

According to a press release sent by the Ministry of Health, the certificate must attest the fulfillment of one of the following conditions:

- vaccination against the SARS-CoV-2 virus and 10 days since the full vaccination scheme was done.

- person is within the period of the 15th and 180th day following the confirmation of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

- person has negative result of an RT-PCR test or a quick antigenic test, for the infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, done in the conditions established by order of the Minister of Health.

The document states that staff within public units who do not present a certified negative certificate of an RT-PCR test, or a quick antigenic test for the infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus will support the costs regarding testing, except for the medical staff who brings proof of affections which represent contraindication to vaccinate, in which case where the testing costs will be supported by the employer.

According to the press release, if the medical staff do not present an EU digital certificate regarding COVID-19, labour contracts will be suspended for a 30 day period.

"After the 30 day suspension period, the labour contract of the medical staff who carry out their activity ceases de jure and for the staff from private medical units who cumulate 30 days since the employer suspended them, the employer can either extend the suspension, or for the contract to cease. In the public medical units the measure of labour contracts ceasing is necessary in order to create the possibility for other people to fill in those positions, in order to ensure the continuity of the activity, taken into account the fact that in those units the total number of positions is limited through pieces of legislation. The responsibility of ensuring the enforcement of these measures belongs to the management of the public and private units. The non-observance of these obligations by the leadership of the unit represents a misdemeanor and is sanctioned with a fine from 50,000 to 100,000 lei, applied by the empowered staff with the county Public Health Directorate (DSP), Bucharest Municipality and within the State Sanitary Inspection," the press release reads.AGERPRES