April 23, 2020 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 23.04.2020, 19:56
Covid-19 Romania Another 4 people infected with the new coronavirus have died in Romania, raising the death-toll to 545, the Strategic Communication Group announced on Thursday. The total number of cases of infection has exceeded ten thousand. Abroad, some one thousand Romanians have been infected, mostly in Italy, and 66 have died. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has stated that the latest data show that the epidemic is on an upward trend in Romania and social distancing and hygiene must be strictly observed. In turn, Health Minister Nelu Tataru has stated that Romania is approaching the peak of the pandemic and its up to the citizens to see that the number of cases remains below 12,000 or keeps raising to 15,000.
Measures On Thursday, the Romanian Chamber of Deputies adopted the bill granting a survivors pension worth 75% of the salary benefiting the surviving spouse and the children of the medical staff that died in the fight against Covid-19. The deputies also decided to grant a bonus of 10% to those who pay their taxes on time. Also, people with bank loans might benefit from a postponement of payment, whether their incomes have been affected by the pandemic or not. Farmers whose harvests have been compromised this year because of the drought will also benefit from a postponement of payment of up to 18 months.
Pope Romanian authorities hail Pope Francis decision to donate five medical ventilators and supplies to the County Hospital in Suceava, north-eastern Romania, needed for the treatment of those infected with the new coronavirus, reads a communiqué issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry on Thursday. “The initiative is proof of His Holiness solidarity with Romania in the sustained efforts of managing the Covid-19 pandemic at national level and demonstrates the excellent relations and the very good cooperation between Romania and the Holy See, in the context of celebrating this year 100 years of diplomatic relations between the two states, the communiqué also reads. The Romanian Foreign Ministry also stresses the fact that the Romanian people keep alive the memory of Pope Francis apostolic visit to Romania, from May 31 to June 2, 2019, on which occasion the Holy Father was present in all historical regions of Romania. We recall that in 1999, Romania became the first predominantly orthodox country ever visited by a Sovereign Pontiff, namely Pope John Paul II.
Pandemic European countries should remain vigilant and careful when considering relaxing the measures aimed to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, said on Thursday the head of the Regional Office for Europe of the WHO, Hans Kluge. Europe reports almost half of the cases registered at global level, which means 1.2 million cases of infection. 2.5 million people have been infected so far across the world, of whom some 180,000 have died. In another move, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned that the new coronavirus might be used as an excuse, by some countries, to take repressive measures for reasons that have nothing to do with the pandemic. Guterres has made public a UN report which stresses that human rights must guide the response and the resumption of normality against the background of the current health, social and economic crisis.
Renault On Thursday, the French Group Renault announced a 19% drop in its Q1 revenues, against the background of the coronavirus pandemic. At global level, sales have dropped by some 26% and by 36% in Europe alone. The Dacia brand has been particularly affected, as it has recorded a drop of 44.5% in registrations in Europe. The Dacia plant in Mioveni, in southern Romania, resumed production on Tuesday, with workers who volunteered to start working again. Dacia company was taken over by Renault in 1999. It was re-launched in 2004 with the Logan model, and as of then it has turned into a big player on the European car market. (M.Ignatescu)
