Senate rejects bill on obligation to present COVID-19 digital certificate at work

On Wednesday, the Senate plenary rejected a bill according to which it is mandatory for the staff of some public and private units to present the COVID-19 digital certificate at the workplace, agerpres reports.

The bill was rejected by 67 to 60 votes, with two abstentions.

According to the version proposed by the initiators, parliamentarians from the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR), the draft law states that the certificate is proof of the fulfillment of one of the following requirements: the completion of a full SARS-CoV-2 vaccination scheme more than 10 days before; recovery from the disease and being between the 15th and the 180th day after the confirmation of the infection with this virus; a negative result of an RT-PCR test (taken no more than 72 hours before) or of a rapid antigen test (taken no more than 48 hours before).

The non-observance of the obligations incumbent on the legal persons represents a contravention and is sanctioned with a fine from 50,000 lei to 100,000 lei, the bill also stipulates.

The provisions would not have applied to the authorities and institutions within the judicial authority, to whom the provisions of Law no. 114/2021 on some measures in justice in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic would have applied instead.

The legislative proposal regarding the establishment of some measures in health care, during the state of alert, for the personnel in some public and private units was sent for debate and adoption to the Chamber of Deputies, decision-making forum in this case.