16 March, 2020

The latest news from Romania.

Newsroom, 16.03.2020, 13:55

Coronavirus Romania. The Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis has declared a state of emergency in Romania starting
on Monday, with special conditions of protection and prevention, in keeping
with the recommendations of international public health bodies. The president
explained he made this decision to allow the authorities to better manage the
situation created by the coronavirus outbreak. The
government will thus be able to allocate more funds to the healthcare sector to
purchase the needed medicines and medical equipment, with the acquisition
process being quicker and simpler. The necessary restrictions to combat the
virus can also be enforced more easily. According to official reports, the
number of infections in Romania has reached 159, with nine of the patients
being declared cured and now out of hospital. Over 3,000 people are in
quarantine and more than 15,500 in isolation at home and under medical
supervision. So far, 36 criminal investigations have begun for thwarting
efforts to combat diseases. Also, all asymptomatic persons entering Romania
from countries with more than 500 infections will enter mandatory
self-isolation at home for a period of 14 days. The measure applies to people
entering by air and road. On Saturday, as Romania officially entered stage
three of the outbreak, the authorities stepped up efforts, adding new measures
to those already taken, such as restricting all cultural, scientific, artistic,
religious and sports events in enclosed spaces and attended by more than 50
people. The essential staff ensuring the running of the nuclear power plant in
Cernavoda, in south-eastern Romania, are in preventive isolation. Parliament
passed an amendment allowing for its sessions and voting to take place through
electronic means, in exceptional circumstances.

Coronavirus world. More and more
states in Europe, the new epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic according to
the World Health Organisation, have taken drastic measures to contain the
spread of the virus. Italy, which has been in lockdown for several days, saw a
record 368 deaths in 24 hours on Sunday. Spain is in almost total lockdown,
being the second worst affected country in Europe after Italy. The Spanish
authorities said on Monday that the initial 15-day quarantine period would be
extended. The situation is also deteriorating in France and Germany has
partially closed borders with Austria, Denmark, France, Luxembourg and
Switzerland, for all but commercial and business travel. Poland already closed
its border with Germany last week. The World Health Organisation says most
cases of infection with Covid-19 are now outside China, the country where the
outbreak started. On Monday, China announced 16 new infections, of which 12 in
persons coming from abroad and said everyone entering Beijing will automatically
go into quarantine for 14 days.

Economy. In Romania, the authorities
are establishing the criteria for qualifying for state aid in the economic
areas worst hit by the coronavirus outbreak. Prime minister Ludovic Orban has
already announced a series of measures, such as the quick reimbursement of VAT,
the payment of outstanding sick leave benefits to companies and measures to
address idle time. In another development, the US central bank has announced a
cut in reference interest rates to close to zero and the application of a
crisis programme known as quantitative easing, by purchasing government bonds
worth 700 billion dollars. After a week in which world markets plummeted to
historic lows, coordinated action from the central banks in the UK, Japan, the
Euro zone and Switzerland aims at helping the US currency and maintain quotations,
at world level. The European Union says it will channel 37 billion euros as
part of its cohesion policy to finance investments to combat the economic
consequences of the crisis caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Vaccine. The first human trial of a coronavirus
vaccine begins today in Seattle, in the US. The trial will begin with 45
healthy young volunteers who will receive shots of the vaccine without being
infected, as the vaccine does not contain any component of the virus. The
latter will transmit to the cells in the body to produce protein that prevents,
treats or cures the disease. The trial will test if the doses cause
immunisation. Health officials say it will take between 12 and 18 months to
fully validate any potential vaccine, says the BBC.

Sports. UEFA meets on Tuesday to discuss the
possibility of delaying or cancelling national and continental competitions and
the European championship amid the coronavirus outbreak. Euro 2020 is scheduled
to take place in Romania and 11 other European countries between 12th
June and 12th July. Bucharest was supposed to host four matches,
three in the group stage and one in the last 16. Romania’s side have failed,
however, to qualify directly for the competition. (CM)