CORONAVIRUS IN
\nROMANIA – The death toll of the COVID-19 virus in Romania has reached 116, the
\nGroup for Strategic Communication has announced today. The latest victim is a
\n70-year-old man from Mures County with a history of cardio-vascular disease and
\nhigh blood pressure. There are 2,738 confirmed cases in Romania, of whom 267
\nhave recovered, while over 15,400 people are in quarantine and some 115,000 in
\nisolation. The number of Romanians living or working abroad who have tested
\npositive for COVID-19 has reached 217, 126 in Spain, 57 in Italy, 14 in France,
\n7 in Germany and 4 in the UK. Since the onset of the outbreak 25 Romanians have
\nlost their lives abroad, of whom 9 in Italy alone.<\/p>\n
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FINES – Starting today
\nan emergency decree takes effect in Romania, introducing higher fines for
\npeople that don’t observe emergency security measures. Minimum fines for
\nnatural persons have increased from 20 to 415 euros while maximum fines from 1,035
\nto 4,150 euros. Fines for legal entities
\nthat don’t comply with military decrees have increased from 205 to 2,050 euros,
\nup to a maximum of 14,500 euros. Moreover, additional sanctions have been
\nintroduced for people who don’t abide by legal provisions, such as the seizure
\nof any goods that make the object of an offence, access denial to the said
\ngoods by putting them under seal, temporary suspension of activity, the
\nshutdown of construction works and the re-establishment of certain design
\nworks. The additional sanctions can be taken depending on the nature and
\nseriousness of the offence. <\/p>\n
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CORONAVIRUS IN THE
\nWORLD – Over a million people have tested positive for coronavirus in the
\nworld, the global death toll standing at 54,000 people, a recent report shows.
\nA quarter of cases have been reported in the US, where the pandemic is
\nspreading swiftly. Italy is the country where most people have died, 14,000,
\nfollowed by Spain with 10,000 deaths, the US with some 6,000, France with over
\n5,000 and China with 3,300 dead. The World Bank has announced it would allocate
\n160 billion dollars over the next 15 months to help countries fight the
\npandemic. The money will be used to protect the poor and the vulnerable and
\nwill support the business sector and the economic recovery process. <\/p>\n
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NATO -
\nForeign Minister Bogdan Aurescu is today attending an informal video-conference
\nof NATO foreign ministers. The meeting will focus on the crisis caused by the
\ncoronavirus pandemic, in the context of the latest developments at European and
\nglobal level. NATO ministers will discuss the possibility of coordinating at
\nconsular level in order to continue to repatriate non-resident EU citizens, as
\nwell as the strengthening of EU’s role in the field of international
\ncooperation and the provision of humanitarian aid, combating disinformation and
\nthe importance of European solidarity. Yesterday, during a similar
\nvideo-conference, Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu underlined the important role
\nof emergency air missions aimed at ensuring the transport of medical equipment,
\nstating that Romania was the first allied state to make use of NATO strategic
\nair transport capabilities in order to bring the necessary equipment and
\nmaterials from South Korea. <\/p>\n
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COMMISSION
\n– The European Commission is intensifying its response capacity against
\nCOVID-19, proposing the creation of a solidarity instrument worth 100 billion
\neuros called SURE, which will help workers maintain their incomes and will
\nsupport businesses. Loans will be handed out based on guarantees provided by
\nMember States and will be directed to the areas facing most difficulties.
\nAvailable to all Member States, SURE will support partial unemployment schemes
\nand similar measures in order to help Member States protect their jobs,
\nemployees and people carrying out independent activities. The Commission is
\nalso proposing the redistribution of all available structural funds for this
\nyear in order to help meet the needs of European healthcare systems. <\/p>\n
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ELECTION
\n– The Liberal Government will most likely postponed the early elections slated
\nfor June, as the coronavirus pandemic has made it impossible for such a
\ndemocratic process to be held in the best possible circumstances, Liberal Prime
\nMinister Ludovic Orban has said. A state of emergency was declared in Romania
\non March 16 and quarantine measures have been in place since last week. The
\nearly elections were scheduled for late June, while legislative elections were
\ndue this November. The epidemic is expected to peak over April 20 – May 1, the
\nrisk of spreading getting lower after this period, Orban went on to say. The
\nRomanian official will consult with the other parties regarding a date for the
\nearly elections, based on the evolution of the pandemic. In another
\ndevelopment, Health Minister Nelu Tataru said movement restrictions could be
\nlifted in stages, starting mid-May. <\/p>\n
(Translated by V. Palcu)<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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