Romania reaches nearly 100,000 virus cases

Romania has reached a tally of nearly 100,000 cases of COVID-19 as the country struggles to contain a resurgence of infection rates.

The country has recorded 99,684 confirmed cases of the virus as of Thursday, according to the Romanian health officials.

In the capital Bucharest, some residents expressed concern over the spiraling numbers of virus cases in the country.

"The rate of compliance (with the rules) is rather low, people don't really wear the mask indoors, it's just a formality when police are around," said Nicoleta, a 32-year-old resident of Bucharest.

Others however, believed the official numbers were not reliable.

"As we all know the statistics are rather fake. There was this study which said out of 163,000 cases only 9,000 were confirmed. So I don't know. It's more of a media (campaign) for the awareness of the people," said Robert, a student.

Romania has reported more than 4,000 deaths among its more than 19 million population, according to data compiled by John Hopkins university.

Coronavirus cases in Romania have seen a steady rise after the easing of lockdown measures in early September.

Since September 1, indoor restaurants, theatres and other cultural institutions have been reopened to the public.

Wearing a face mask is however mandatory inside restaurants and on public transport.