May 10, 2020
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 10.05.2020, 14:07
Relaxation of measures – In Romania restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic will be relaxed as of May 15, however, certain rules will have to be strictly observed. Therefore, people have to wear face masks in enclosed public spaces, in shops, public transportation means and at the work place. Companies and institutions will have to re-schedule employees’ working hours to avoid overcrowding of transportation means and to allow employees to work from home, if possible. Still forbidden are the open-air events and meetings as well as indoor cultural, artistic, sport and religious events. Nevertheless beauty salons, dental clinics and parks will be re-opened and people will be allowed to travel to another city while strictly observing the rules of prevention. The relaxation measures are being publicly debated on the websites of the Interior Ministry and of the National Public Health Institute. The Strategic Communication Group announced that the number of deaths reported in Romania has reached 952, the total tally of coronavirus infections exceeding 15,300. Of the people testing positive for COVID-19, over 7 thousand have recovered. More than 2,75o Romanians from abroad have been infected with the new coronavirus, mostly in Italy, Spain and Great Britain. Since the start of the pandemic 100 Romanians from abroad have died.
Coronavirus world — The EC has called on member countries and the Schengen associated countries to extent the temporary restriction of non-essential trips within the EU by June 15. Although some member states are already easing restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, the situation is still fragile in Europe and the world, the EC officials underlined. Almost 4 million cases of COVID-19 infection have been reported around the world and over 274 thousand deaths, but countries have started to gradually relax restrictions. In Europe the number of new infections is on a downward trend in such states as Italy and Spain. In Europe, the biggest number of deaths has been reported in the UK — over 31 thousand while the number of confirmed infections is way over 211 thousand. In the US the number of deaths has risen to more than 77 thousand and the number of contaminations exceeded 1.2 million against the backdrop of people’s discontent with record unemployment figures.
Parliament — The Romanian health minister Nelu Tataru, the labor minister Violeta Alexandru and the foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu are called on Monday in Parliament to brief MPs on the way in which they managed the situation during the state of emergency. A sensitive issue on the agenda of discussions is the situation of the Romanian seasonal workers who left to work abroad in full COVID-19 crisis. Minister Bogdan Aurescu needs to explain how the Romanian workers went abroad and why they worked in insecure conditions. The labor minister also has to answer the MPs questions related to the Romanian employees’ furlough and to the promised pension increase and the measures the government is going to take in this respect. The health minister is expected to provide answers related to how many individuals have been tested for COVID-19 so far and how many tests were made across Romania and also to what is going to happen after the easing of restrictions following May 15.
May 10 — The traditional events held by the Royal House of Romania to mark May 10 have been cancelled. Therefore, the military ceremony and wreath laying at the statue of King Carol I have been cancelled, as well as the open air party at the Elisabeth Palace, which used to be attended by thousands of guests from Romania and the neighboring Republic of Moldova each year. On May 10, 1866 Prince Carol of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen came to Bucharest to be crowned ruler of Romania. Thus, May 10 remained known as Royalty Day. May 10 is equally related to Carol I and a victory of Romania: in 1877 Romania announced its independence from the Ottoman Empire and with Carol I leading the Romanian army and the allied Russian army, Romania won its independence. On May 10, 1881, Prince Carol I was crowned King of Romania. His rule ended after 48 years, being the long rule of a king in history. He was succeeded to the throne by his nephew Ferdinand under whose rule Romania had the largest territorial expansion. The Hohenzollern dynasty ruled Romania until the abdication of King Mihai I in 1947, when the Communists took over power. (tr. L. Simion)
