April 29, 2020 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 29.04.2020, 19:53

CORONAVIRUS ROMANIA
– The authorities are considering four scenarios which could be imposed after
May 15: extending the state of emergency, declaring a state of alert, issuing a
decree on a high-risk epidemic and, finally, taking no special measures, Prime
Minister Ludovic Orban said on Wednesday. A decision will be taken as the
deadline draws near, depending on the evolution of the pandemic. Previously,
President Klaus Iohannis said easing restrictions starting May 15 doesn’t mean
life will return to normal, because the danger hasn’t passed. In turn, Health
Minister Nelu Tataru said that Romania is still heading towards the peak of the
pandemic, but that in the next two weeks the number of new infections is
expected to drop from one day to the next. Over 12,000 infections have been confirmed
in Romania so far, some 700 people have died and over 3,500 have recovered.
Around 2,200 Romanians abroad have tested positive for COVID-19, 88 of whom
have died.

PANDEMIC – A
number of countries have announced they will ease the restrictions imposed due
to the pandemic. In France and Greece schools will open gradually starting May
11, while in Spain and Italy students will return to school in autumn. Hotels
in Poland will be open to tourists during the summer while Bulgaria, Greece and
Turkey plan to open the tourist season on July 1. Football clubs in Spain will
resume training starting May 4, while in Portugal sports competitions will
resume gradually. In the US, where the number of infections exceeds 1 million, President
Donald Trump signed an executive order calling on meat producers to maintain
their activity, amidst news of several slaughterhouses shutting down. The
Federal Government will provide protection equipment for all employees in the
sector. An updated death toll published by John Hopkins University shows the
number of fatalities in the US is higher than the number of American soldiers
killed in two decades during the Vietnam War. The global number of infections
exceeds 3.1 million, the most number of cases being reported in the US, Spain,
Italy, France, the UK and Germany. Some 220,000 people died to the coronavirus
worldwide and over 965,000 have recovered.

DRAFT LAW -
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday harshly criticized the tacit
adoption, by the Chamber of Deputies, of a draft law regarding the autonomy of
the so-called Szeckler Land, a region in central Romania hosting the Hungarian
community. Iohannis made it clear he would not promulgate the law. According to
the draft law initiated by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in
Romania, the region should have its own administrative organization, public
authorities and institutions and Hungarian should be its official language. The
region would include the counties of Covasna, Harghita and part of Mures
County. The Legislative Council, the Economic and Social Council and the
Government have not green-lit the project. The Senate too on Wednesday gave a
negative vote. Social-Democrat Chamber of Deputies Speaker, Marcel Ciolacu,
said his party has voted against the bill in the chamber’s specialized
committees. On the other hand, the Liberals say the tacit adoption would have
signaled a political agreement between the Social-Democrats and the Democratic
Union of Ethnic Hungarians. Prior to the vote, the Save Romania Union had also
announced its Senators would vote against the bill, saying it goes against the
Constitution. The president of the People’s Movement Party, Eugen Tomac, said
Wednesday’s vote represents one of the biggest humiliations Parliament has
ever subjected Romania and its people to, which is a sign of political
weakness.

MISSION – A team
of Romanian doctors and nurses, set up on a volunteer basis, will leave
Thursday for the Republic of Moldova, where they will help medical units
involved in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Romania will also give
Moldova a financial assistance package to help the country fight the
coronavirus. Over April 7-24, a team made up of 11 doctors and 4 nurses were in
Lombardy, Italy, where they contributed to the treatment of patients infected
with coronavirus. The mission, which was also carried out on a volunteer basis,
was conducted as part of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The Romanian
Foreign Ministry has approved the issuance of diplomatic passports to the
personnel of Romanian medical missions to Italy and the Republic of Moldova, as
a sign of great respect and appreciation for their efforts in fighting the
COVID-19 pandemic.

(Translated by V. Palcu & Elena Enache)