March 21, 2020

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 21.03.2020, 13:51

Covid-19 Romania In a
public address on Friday, Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis urged all
Romanians to show responsibility and observe the rules imposed by authorities.
He 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 in isolation did not observe the measure and many lied to the
authorities although they had come from red zones. The new punishments can go
as far as 15 years in prison. So far, 367 cases of coronavirus infection have
been confirmed in Romania. Of them 52 have been cured. Outside Romania’s
borders, 7 Romanians have died of Covid-19, 6 in Italy and one in France. So
far, 30 Romanians abroad have been infected, 23 in Italy, 2 in Namibia and one
each in Spain, Luxembourg, Ireland, Tunis and France.

Workers Romanians who were working as seasonal workers in Italy are to be brought home
by plane. The first group will be brought today from Turin. The Romanian
Foreign Ministry and the Transport Ministry have identified several
possibilities to bring them home, as these people have been affected by the
impact of the pandemic on many economic activities in the peninsula and have no
means to remain there. The ministry, on the other hand, has called on the
population to avoid any unnecessary travel and urged the Romanians tourists who
are temporarily abroad to come back urgently. According to the Romanian Foreign
Ministry, the Romanian citizens residing abroad must strictly abide by the recommendations
made by those countries’ authorities and avoid travelling to Romania.

Pandemic The Covid-19
pandemic continues to spread across Europe. Italy is the most affected country
in the world, with 627 deaths reported on Friday alone. The most affected region
is still Lombardy, in the north, but the virus has started spreading towards
the south too. The other countries that have reported high death tolls are
Spain, France and Great Britain. The EC President Ursula von der Leyen has
announced that the rules on EU budget discipline have been suspended, in order
to allow the member states to spend whatever is necessary in the fight against
the pandemic. In another development, on Friday China was faced with a record
increase in the number of infections, as a large number of expats from the US
and Europe returned home. The total number of cases confirmed in China stands
at over 81 thousand, and the number of deaths has exceeded 3250. The US is
facing problems too, as 20 thousand cases and some 300 deaths have been
confirmed, with New York as the epicenter of the crisis. The situation in Iran
and South Korea is also bad. The total number of deaths caused by Covid-19
around the globe has exceeded 10 thousand.

EC The European
Commission has announced it will 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.

Central Bank The Romanian
Central Bank has decided to reduce the key interest rate from 2.5% to 2% as of
Monday, and has also taken other measures against the background of the
problems triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Central Bank’s board has
decided to inject liquidities into the banking system in order to ensure a
better funding of the economy and the purchase of bonds from the banks that own
them. Another measure is to narrow the interest corridor from 1% to 0.5%.
Therefore, the penalty interest for banks drops from 3.5% to 2.5%.

Equipment Romanian army
researchers have designed an isolation stretcher that has been tested and
approved, and its production will start soon. The National Defense Ministry has
announced that the new equipment ensures the temporary isolation and safe
transport of people suspected or confirmed as being infected with the new
coronavirus. It has a filtered air ventilation system and meets all safety
standards to avoid contamination during transportation.