April 1, 2020

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 01.04.2020, 14:00

ANALYSIS -
President Klaus Iohannis is today chairing a meeting aimed at analyzing and presenting
public safety and order measures in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Taking part are Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, Interior Minister Marcel Vela,
Defense Minister Nicolae Ciuca and State Secretary with the Interior Ministry,
Police Chief Bogdan Despescu. Authorities report 2,245 infections with the new
coronavirus and 85 deaths. 220 people have recovered. Prosecutors have launched
a criminal investigation into several irregularities reported at the Suceava
County Hospital in Suceava, the only county where total quarantine has been declared
and where a large number of medical staff and patients have tested positive for
COVID-19. A third of the total number of people who died to the virus were from
Suceava.

UNEMPLOYMENT
– Businesses, self-employed people and other types of employees can apply for
technical unemployment starting today. Labor Minister Violeta Alexandru made a
series of declarations regarding the two decrees regulation this field. The
state will thus pay 75% of the average gross salary, namely no more than 475
euros. The measure is in place only during the state of emergency. Athletes are
also eligible for this type of unemployment benefits. All the related documents
will be filed online.

LOAN – The
Finance Ministry has taken out a new loan worth 415 million euros on the local
markets. Finance Minister Florin Citu says the money will be used to pay
salaries, pensions, social welfare benefits and VAT refunds. Financial
institutions have provided the state with funds after a period when cash
withdrawals, from both the population and businesses, have doubled compared to
December 2019. The National Bank says this represents the peak of financial
tensions caused by the coronavirus crisis.

INDUSTRY -
The Romanian pharmaceutical industry will report a record high turnover in 2020,
an estimated 14 billion euros, in the context of the growing demand of
medication and sanitary equipment generated by the coronavirus pandemic, reads
a recent study conducted by KeysFin, one of the country’s top business
information providers. According to estimates, the economy will drop in 2020 by
as much as 7%. Still, the pharmaceutical industry, which has been reporting
constant growth in the last 10 years, will be one of the privileged sectors in
the current context, alongside the food, IT&C and agriculture industries,
as well as energy, natural gas and water supply providers. Some 170
manufacturers of medicine and pharmaceutical gear are certified in Romania, in
addition to 6,500 retailers and wholesalers trading these types of products.

CORONAVIRUS
IN EUROPE – The COVID-19 pandemic has
killed over 30,000 people in Europe, of which two thirds in Italy and Spain,
France Press quotes information released by national authorities. France is the
country with the third-largest number of victims. Europe is the continent most
affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The European Commission has proposed the disbursement
of an additional 75 million euros to support operations aimed at repatriating
European citizens and increasing the reserve budget for the purchase of medical
equipment. The Commission is considering an adjustment of the said budget.
Since the start of the pandemic, some 2,300 EU citizens have been repatriated
from China, Japan, the United States, Morocco, Tunisia, Georgia, the
Philippines and Cape Verde. Another 80 similar flights are scheduled for the
coming days.

STUDY – Isolation and other measures adopted to avert the
COVID-19 pandemic from spreading have saved the lives of some 59,000 people in
11 European countries, researchers with the Imperial College in London have
revealed. The measures taken under advisement are quarantine for the sick, the
closing-down of schools and universities, banning public gatherings, social
distancing measures and general isolation. Italy, the first country to introduce
strict measures and where the pandemic has reached its peak, some 38,000 lives
were saved due to the decision to impose total quarantine, the study reveals.
Next on the list is Spain with 16,000 lives saved, followed by France with
2,500 lives saved, Belgium with 560, Germany with 550, the UK with 370,
Switzerland with 340, Austria with 140, Sweden with 82, Denmark with 69 and
Norway with 10 lives saved. Researchers say that any more deaths will be
averted by keeping interventions in place until transmission drops to low
levels.

(Translated by V. Palcu)