10 April, 2020

Peak of 10,000-12,000 coronavirus cases is expected in Romania, says countrys health minister./ Government issues new military decree./ EU finance ministers agree on emergency rescue package.

Newsroom, 10.04.2020, 13:55

Romania coronavirus. 265 new coronavirus cases were reported in Romania
today, with the total number nearing 5,500. 257 people have died and 729 have
recovered. Health minister Nelu Tataru earlier told a TV station that the
authorities are expecting a peak of between 10,000 and 12,000 coronavirus cases
in Romania, but that the figure may change depending on developments in the
next two weeks, which he says are going to be difficult. Among the Romanians
living abroad, 651 infection cases have been reported, of which 400 in Italy
alone, and 37 deaths.

World. Global coronavirus cases pass
1.6 million, while fatalities go up to around 96,000. In the US, where the
outbreak is spreading at the fastest pace, 19 drugs and treatments for Covid-19
are currently under trial, while 26 others are about to go on trial, president
Donald Trump told a press conference. More than 1,700 fatalities were reported
in the US in the last 24 hours, with the total death toll passing 16,000, the
second largest in the world after Italy. Europe is the worst hit continent so
far, particularly Spain, Italy, France, Germany and the UK. The Spanish
Parliament on Thursday night approved the extension of the state of emergency
until 26th April. In the UK, prime minister Boris Johnson has left
the intensive care unit.

Decree. A new military decree has been issued in Romania, where a state
of emergency is in place, banning the export of a number of products such as
wheat, barley, oats, corn, wheat flour, sunflower oil, sugar and bakery
products. The decree also allows produce markets to stay open for the duration
of the state of emergency, given the upcoming Catholic Easter this weekend and the
Orthodox Easter next weekend. In the run-up to the Easter holidays, shops are
also allowed to extend their opening hours. Interior minister Marcel Vela, who
presented the new decree, used the opportunity to again call on the population
to respect social distancing guidelines and on the Romanians living abroad not
to travel to Romania for the Easter holidays.

Rescue package. EU finance ministers have agreed on an emergency rescue
package for the member states worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Over 500
billion euros are made available to help workers, businesses and governments.
The agreement was reached after talks in Brussels, which press agencies say were
made difficult by the divisions between the northern nations, especially the
Dutch, and the countries in the south of Europe, which were worst hit by the
outbreak and whose economies are more fragile. Italy and Spain have called for
access to funds that they can spend as they see fit, while the Dutch insisted
on strict conditions. A compromise was reached in the end, with the emergency
package also making available a consolidated credit line of 240 billion euros,
with countries being able to borrow up to 2% of their GDPs.

Workers. Romanian prime minister Ludovic Orban told the public TV
station that between 80,000 and 90,000 Romanian nationals may travel abroad for
work in the coming period. He explained these are employment contracts agreed
between Romanian citizens and foreign companies, such as from Germany, Italy,
Spain, Austria and the Netherlands, especially in the farming sector. Orban
criticised, however, the manager of the Cluj Napoca airport, in the north-west
of the country, who did not inform the authorities about the departure of 2,000
seasonal workers to Germany on Thursday, which led to chaos on the airport and
infringement of coronavirus restrictions. Flights due to leave today from Iasi,
in the east of the country, and supposed to take 400 Romanian workers to
Germany, have been cancelled. The measure was taken in keeping with a military
decree banning assemblies in public spaces. The airport management had
previously asked the security forces to help enforce social distancing rules to
prevent a situation like that in Cluj.

Inflation. The annual inflation rate in Romania stayed at 3% in March,
while the prices of food products grew by 5.11%, that of services by 3.8% and
that of non-food products by 1.39%, according to a report by the National
Institute for Statistics. The National Bank forecasts an inflation rate of 3%
for the whole year. (Tr.: CM)