MAY 16, 2020

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 16.05.2020, 14:01

STATE OF ALERT Romania’s 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 proposals 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 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 Romania’s support to Italy and the neighbouring 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 have
died of Covid-19 in Romania today, 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 it was first
reported. 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, Greece has decided
to open beaches today, 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 their borders too, and Switzerland, Germany and
Austria want 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 At
least 29 thousand people, Romanian and foreign, as well as more than 20
thousand vehicles have crossed the Romanian borders in teh past 24 hours, according
to the Romanian Border Police. Starting 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, Luxemburg, Malta and Slovenia. (M.Ignatescu)