March 20, 2020 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 20.03.2020, 19:53
COVID-19 ROMANIA In a public address on Friday, Romanias President Klaus Iohannis urged all Romanians to show responsibility and observe the rules imposed by authorities. “We are going through a crisis that nobody has anticipated. I know that all our lives have changed and every day we worry about the health of our loved ones. In order to protect us all we have and we will continue to take drastic measures” Iohannis said. He also said he was very much impressed by the large number of people willing to support doctors, hospitals and people in difficulty. In another move, the Government has announced more severe punishments for the crime of hampering the prevention of the spread of the epidemic and for false declarations about the coronavirus pandemic. The decision to harshen such penalties was taken after many people placed under isolation did not observe the measure and many lied to the authorities although they were coming from red zones. The new punishments can go as far as 15 years in prison. So far, 308 cases of coronavirus infection have been confirmed in Romania. Of them 31 have been cured. Outside Romanias borders, in Italy, 3 Romanian died of Covid-19, and 30 have been confirmed as being infected.
EC On Friday, the European Commission announced it would direct more than one billion Euros to Romania to help the health-care system and loaning for SMEs affected by the pandemic. 438 million Euro come from renouncing this year the obligation to request the reimbursement by Romania of the prefunds left unused from structural funds. Adding to that will be another 637 million, by disbursing a down payment for the 2020 structural funds in March and April.
PANDEMIC The total death toll of the coronavirus pandemic went over 10,000 on Friday, according to the latest data made public by the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering in the US. Some 250 thousand cases of Covid-19 have been reported at global level. Italy reports the largest number of deaths, over 4000. Other countries with significant death figures include China, Iran, Spain, France, the US and Britain. Whereas China reports no new locally transmitted cases, and the new cases are citizens coming from abroad, in Europe the situation continues to worsen. The EU has closed its borders for foreign citizens and banned all non-essential travel in the Schengen area, to slow down the spreading of the disease. In another move, the European Commission has adopted a temporary framework allowing the member states to use the entire flexibility allowed by the legislation on state aid in order to support the economies affected by the pandemic. On March 26th, the EU leaders will hold a new video-conference to discuss the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. On the same day, the European Parliament intends to enhance EU aid for the economic environment. The European Central Bank has already announced an emergency plan worth 750 billion Euro for public and private debt, in an attempt to contain the effects of the pandemic.
DEROGATION Romania, the Republic of Moldova, Latvia and Armenia, which are members of the Council of Europe, have activated the article in the European Convention on Human Rights that allows derogation from the application of certain provisions, given the emergency state decreed against the background of the Covid-19 pandemic. Romania has officially notified the Council of Europe that it activates this derogation because, by declaring a state of emergency, some fundamental rights and freedoms have been limited. Art. 15 of the Convention affords to contracting states, in times of war or other exceptional circumstances, the possibility of derogating, in a limited and supervised manner, from their obligations to secure certain rights and freedoms under the Convention.
RADIO Radio Romania News and Current Affairs and all public radio stations in Europe broadcast the song Youll Never Walk Alone as a show of unity amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday, European broadcasters aired the Gerry and The Pacemakers piece simultaneously, urging people to stay at home in order to help contain the pandemic. Known as an anthem of Liverpool football club, the song Youll Never Walk Alone was written in 1945 and has been covered by many artists over the years.
PRAYER On Thursday night, Catholics around the world joined Pope Francis in prayer for an end to the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more people in Italy then in any other part of the world, Reuters reports. Italian bishops urged Catholics in the country to light candles in the windows and pray at home, as a sign of unity and solidarity. The initiative was announced early this week and was disseminated by social media around the world. The Pope is self-isolating at the Vatican. Last Sunday he walked on Romes empty streets to pray in 2 churches for an end to the pandemic. The Vatican announced that for the first time, the Easter mass will be held without public participation.
FILM The Cannes Film Festival will most likely be postponed to June or July over COVID-19 concerns, the organizers have announced. The 73rd Cannes Festival was scheduled to take place between May 12th and 23rd. Hollywood will no longer make public box office figures, after theatres have been closed in many countries, making last weekend the worst in 2 decades in this respect. Over the past few days the US, Canada, UK, Italy, France, South Korea have closed down cinema halls due to restrictions concerning indoor events, while theaters in China, Hollywoods biggest foreign market, have been closed for weeks now because of the pandemic. (M.Ignatescu)
