May 16, 2020 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 16.05.2020, 19:00
STATE OF ALERT Romanias President Klaus Iohannis has promulgated the state of alert law, adopted by the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday, which comes into force on Monday. According to the document, the state of alert cannot exceed 30 days and can be extended for grounded reasons, at the proposal of the Interior Ministry. The head of state has also promulgated the law on recognizing the merits of the medical staff that have fought Covid-19 over this period. Under the new law, the medical staff and the families of those who have died of Covid-19 will have certain benefits. Klaus Iohannis has reiterated the importance of social distancing and observing the rules in place. The state of alert replaces the state of emergency, which was declared two months ago. In the coming 30 days, people will have to wear masks in other closed public facilities, at work, on the public means of transport and other closed spaces. People are allowed to travel inside localities without a self-declaration, provided they observe the prevention rules. A declaration is still needed though if one wishes to travel to another town or city.
CEI On Friday, Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu took part in the extraordinary summit of the heads of state and government of the Central European Initiative, held by video-conference and focusing on the Covid-19 pandemic. The Romanian minister highlighted Romanias support to Italy and the neighboring Republic of Moldova. Between the 7th and the 24th of April, a team of 11 doctors and 6 nurses helped the Italian medical staff in the fight against the new coronavirus. Also, this month Romania has sent to Moldova a convoy of 20 trucks of medical supplies, worth 3.5 million Euro, and also medical staff. The Central European Initiative is a forum of regional cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe, counting 18 member states.
COVID-19 RO Several people died of Covid-19 in Romania on Saturday, raising the death toll to 1,081, according to the Strategic Communication Group. More than half of the approximately 16,700 Romanians who got infected have been cured. Of the Romanians living abroad, some 3000 have been infected with the new coronavirus, mostly in Italy, Spain and Germany, and 103 have died.
PANDEMIC The Covid-19 pandemic has made more than 300,000 victims around the world since December, when the first case was reported in China. The total number of people infected with the new coronavirus at global level has exceeded 4.5 million. In the US, where the first death caused by the new coronavirus was reported in early February, the situation remains critical. There are some 1.4 million people infected and more than 87 thousand dead. In Europe, the countries most affected have been Great Britain with 33 thousand dead, Italy with more than 31 thousand, France and Spain with approx 27 thousand. In another move, on Saturday Greece reopened beaches, but under strict conditions of social distancing. Only 40 people will be allowed on an area of one thousand square meters of sand, and umbrellas will be positioned at a distance of 4 meters from one another. The Baltic countries have opened the borders between them, and Switzerland, Germany and Austria intend to relax border restrictions as of this weekend, ahead of the total opening, scheduled for mid June. The European Commission is coordinating the reopening of borders in all the EU member countries, which should take place on June 3rd. The external borders, however, remain closed until June 15th.
BORDER As of May 15th, when the state of emergency was replaced by a state of alert, all people arriving to Romania, no matter where they come from, are placed in home isolation. Those who cannot do that at home, for various reasons, can opt for institutionalized quarantine, in facilities provided by the state. Border formalities take longer because additional controls take place at the border, including an epidemiological one.
ECONOMY According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, In the first quarter of 2020, Romania registered the biggest economic growth in the EU, as compared to the same period last year. Romania was followed by Lithuania and Bulgaria. The most significant decline was recorded in France, followed by Spain and Slovakia, all with negative figures. The GDP in the Eurozone dropped by 3.2% in the first three months of the year, against the same period last year, and the EU registered a drawback of 2.6%. Eurostat has stated that the figures for Romania are still provisional, and there is no available data yet for Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Croatia, Luxembourg, Malta and Slovenia. (M.Ignatescu)
