April 4, 2020

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 04.04.2020, 14:00

DECREE – The
Bucharest Government has passed an emergency decree transferring all medical
units into the authority of the Health Ministry, Health Minister Nelu Tataru
announced on Friday. The Romanian official pointed out that Public Health
Directorates and Ambulance Services will start recruiting over the coming days.
Some 4.7 million euros have been allotted for real-time molecular tests. There
are currently 35 testing centers in Romania, compared to only one on February
26. Minister Tataru said there are currently three COVID-19 hotbeds in Romania:
Suceava in the northeast and Arad and Deva in the west. The Romanian official
said there aren’t sufficient reasons to instate total quarantine for Arad and
Deva. Suceava and 8 neighboring villages have entered total quarantine early
this week. The death toll in Romania has reached 133. The number of infections
stands at 3,183, of whom 283 people have recovered. 83 patients are in
intensive care. Of the total number of infected 474 are medical staff, mostly
from Suceava. Some 13,000 people are quarantined at national level and over
110,000 are in home isolation. 221 Romanian citizens abroad have tested
positive for COVID-19 and 25 have died.

CORONAVIRUS IN THE
WORLD – The global death toll for the coronavirus has exceeded 59,000. The
World Health Organization says over 200 countries and territories are currently
being affected. The most serious situation is in the United States, which
reports a quarter of the total number of infections, and in Europe, the
continent with the largest number of deaths. The WHO warns that COVID-19 might
seriously hit Japan next, unless this country takes swift prevention measures.
In Europe, the number of infections in Spain has exceeded that of Italy,
standing at some 11,000. Italy instead is reporting decreasing number of
infections, and the death toll is closing in on 15,000. France reports the third-largest
number of victims, over 6,500.

RECESSION -The coronavirus pandemic has brought the global economy
to a standstill and plunged the world into a recession that will be way worse
than the global financial crisis a decade ago, the head of the International
Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva said on Friday. The IMF official called on
advanced economies to step up their efforts to help emerging markets and
developing countries survive the economic and health impact of the pandemic. A
similar message was delivered by World Bank President, David Malpass. The
European Commission and the European Investment Bank have green-lit the
disbursement of 700 million euros to the agri-food sector as part of the
Investment Plan for Europe. The program will help maintain and create new jobs
in rural areas. The Commission has announced a temporary suspension of customs
taxes and VAT for medical and protection imports from outside the EU, which
will ease pressure on public spending for national governments.

LEGISLATION – Parliament on Friday passed three bills regarding the
suspension of the bank loan payments, technical unemployment and fiscal
measures aimed at helping individuals and businesses. The plenary session was
held online and MPs voted via telephone. Under the first bill, initiated by the
Social Democrats, bank loan payments can be suspended on demand, without
interest rates or penalties. The Social-Democrats say the document will correct
errors in the emergency decree passed by the Liberal Government. The Liberals,
in power, say they will refer the bill to the Constitutional Court, saying it
is a populist measure that piles up pressure on the state budget. The Liberals
will also challenge the bill that postpones the payment of social security
contributions and utility bills for a period of three months, which addresses
people who have filed for technical unemployment benefits. All parties in
Parliament voted the bill that proposes the payment of an allowance tantamount
to 75% of the base salary of employees affected by the reduction or suspension
of activity.

PALM SUNDAY – Catholic Christians worldwide are celebrating Palm
Sunday, marking the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where the crowd welcomed
him holding palm branches. Palm Sunday marks the start of the last week of
Lent, also known as Holy Week, when Christians prepare to celebrate the
Resurrection of Christ. This year, due to restrictions caused by the
coronavirus pandemic, masses in Romania as well as in other countries will be
celebrated in empty churches and broadcast on TV, radio or online. The Church
urges everyone during this pandemic to discover the beauty and plenitude of
prayer, praying with our loved ones in our churches at home, with our families,
the spokesman of the Roman-Catholic Diocese in Bucharest, Father Francisc Dobos
has said, adding that the situation is not ideal, but is the best possible one.
By uniting in spirit via various means of communication, television, radio or
the Internet, we stay together with Christ, Francisc Dobos added. This year
Roman-Catholic Christians celebrate Easter on April 12, while Orthodox
Christians on April 19.

(Translated by V. Palcu)