May 14, 2020

Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 14.05.2020, 14:05

ALERT On May 15th Romania
will shift to the state of alert at the end of a two-month emergency state
instated through a presidential decree against the background of the coronavirus
pandemic. The announcement has been made today by the country’s Prime Minister
Ludovic Orban. Parliament on Monday endorsed a government draft on measures to
be imposed during the alert state, as some amendments have been operated to previous
regulations. Several circulation restrictions were lifted on Tuesday and the new
measures also provide for the opening of outdoor terraces with the observance
of safety distancing rules as well shops with surfaces under 15 thousand square
meters. Under the new regulations fines for violating these rules cannot exceed
3,000 Euros. The draft is due to remain in Parliament for two days, during
which it can be challenged at the country’s Constitutional Court and then sent
to the president for promulgation.

DAY On May 14th every year
Romania pays homage to its anti-communist martyrs. 72 years ago this day
Romania saw the largest wave of political arrests in the country’s history.
Tens of thousands of young people, most of them students were arrested on that
night part of a plan masterminded by the country’s communist authorities.

MEASURES Romania’s government has today
convened for talks on a fresh measure package to benefit disadvantaged
enterprises and people. The government is expected to be focusing on new
measures targeting the temporary lay-offs in several economic fields, which are
expected to remain closed down as well as on the financial aid to be granted to
parents until the end of the school year. The government is also focusing on a
financial aid meant to enable the big enterprises to kickstart output, similar
to the one already benefitting the country’s small and medium-sized companies.

COVID-19 Romania’s Interior Minister
Marcel Vela has announced a fresh military ordinance, number 12, under which
the city of Suceava in the north-east of the country and its surroundings,
which saw the largest number of Covid infections in Romania, is no longer in
quarantine. On Monday, the authorities announced similar measures for the town
of Tandarei in the south of the country. Minister Vela has again called on the
population to observe the protection measures against the new coronavirus even
after the end of the state of emergency. According to Vela, all the military
ordinances issued lately have been aimed at protecting the health of the
citizens; the minister has also thanked those who responded to the authorities’
call and proved responsible. According to the authorities, the virus has so far
killed 1046 people in Romania, which has reported over 16 thousand infections.
Out of those who tested positive, over 9 thousand have been cured and left
hospitals. 2855 Romanians have been infected abroad, most of them in Italy,
Spain and Germany. 102 of them died mostly in countries like Britain, Italy and
France.

TALKS During a phone call with her
Spanish counterpart Jose Luis Escriva, Romania’s Minister of Labour and Social
Solidarity, Violeta Alexandru, tackled the issue of labour contracts signed by
the Romanian temporary workers in this country. The Romanian official laid
emphasis on the importance of provisions regarding the period of notice on
termination of employment, the reimbursement of travel expenses and the medical
insurance benefitting the Romanian workers. Violeta Alexandru has announced
that she will hold talks on the same issues with her French counterpart and
that she is going to pay a visit to Germany to asses the labour conditions the
Romanian temporary workers enjoy in that country. The Romanian Labour Minister
has called on the Romanian temporary workers abroad to avoid illicit working.

(translated by bill)