April 3, 2020 UPDATE
Over 1 million people have been infected with the novel coronavirus worldwide.
Newsroom, 03.04.2020, 19:52
CORONAVIRUS ROMANIA – Another 445 cases of infection with the novel coronavirus were confirmed on Friday in Romania, with the number of people who tested positive standing at 3,184, the Group for Strategic Communication has announced. Of them, 83 patients are in the intensive care unit. As many as 283 people got well and were discharged while 133 have died. The number of Romanians infected with the COVID-19 virus abroad is 221, of whom 25 have died.
MESSAGE — On Friday Romanian President Klaus Iohannis urged Romanians once more to strictly observe the rules in place in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. In his opinion, Romania has entered the most difficult stage of the epidemic and the upcoming weeks will be critical for the medical system. Iohannis has again called on the Romanians abroad not to come home for the Easter holiday. Romania, a mostly Orthodox country, celebrates Easter on April 19 and the Catholics a week earlier.
DECISION — The Bucharest Government has decided that all medical units subordinated to local authorities will be coordinated by the Health Ministry, Minister Nelu Tataru announced on Friday. The Health Minister pointed out that the appointment or dismissal of hospital managers will also be decided by the ministry. He also said that over 19 million euros were allocated to 13 institutes and county hospitals for the purchase of medical equipment, including ventilators, and emergency communication devices. Another 39 million euros are to be distributed to medical units in the upcoming days.
FINES – An emergency decree took effect in Romania on Friday, introducing higher fines for people that dont observe emergency security measures. Minimum fines for natural persons have increased from 20 to 415 euros while maximum fines from 1,035 to 4,150 euros. Fines for legal entities that dont comply with military decrees have increased from 205 to 2,050 euros, up to a maximum of 14,500 euros. Moreover, additional sanctions have been introduced for people who dont abide by legal provisions, such as the seizure of any goods that make the object of an offence, access denial to the said goods by putting them under seal, temporary suspension of activity, the shutdown of construction works and the re-establishment of certain design works. The additional sanctions can be taken depending on the nature and seriousness of the offence.
BILLS – The Bucharest Parliament has passed three bills regarding the suspension of the bank loan payments, technical unemployment and fiscal measures aimed at helping individuals and companies. Under the first bill, initiated by the Social Democrats, bank loan payments can be suspended on demand, without interest rates or penalties. The Liberals, in power, say they will appeal the bill at the Constitutional Court and find the measure populistic and likely to put pressure on the state budget.
PANDEMIC – Over a million people have tested positive for coronavirus in the world, the global death toll standing at 56,000 people, a recent report shows. A quarter of the cases have been reported in the US, where the pandemic is spreading swiftly. Italy is the country where most people have died, 14,000, followed by Spain with 10,000 deaths, the US with some 6,000, France with over 5,000 and China with 3,300 deaths. The World Bank has announced it will allocate 160 billion dollars over the next 15 months to help countries fight the pandemic. The money will be used to protect the poor and the vulnerable and will support the business sector and the economic recovery process. (EE)
