DECREE – The
\nBucharest Government has passed an emergency decree transferring all medical
\nunits into the authority of the Health Ministry, Health Minister Nelu Tataru
\nannounced on Friday. The Romanian official pointed out that Public Health
\nDirectorates and Ambulance Services will start recruiting over the coming days.
\nSome 4.7 million euros have been allotted for real-time molecular tests. There
\nare currently 35 testing centers in Romania, compared to only one on February
\n26. Minister Tataru said there are currently three COVID-19 hotbeds in Romania:
\nSuceava in the northeast and Arad and Deva in the west. The Romanian official
\nsaid there aren’t sufficient reasons to instate total quarantine for Arad and
\nDeva. Suceava and 8 neighboring villages have entered total quarantine early
\nthis week. The death toll in Romania has reached 133. The number of infections
\nstands at 3,183, of whom 283 people have recovered. 83 patients are in
\nintensive care. Of the total number of infected 474 are medical staff, mostly
\nfrom Suceava. Some 13,000 people are quarantined at national level and over
\n110,000 are in home isolation. 221 Romanian citizens abroad have tested
\npositive for COVID-19 and 25 have died.<\/p>\n
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CORONAVIRUS IN THE
\nWORLD – The global death toll for the coronavirus has exceeded 59,000. The
\nWorld Health Organization says over 200 countries and territories are currently
\nbeing affected. The most serious situation is in the United States, which
\nreports a quarter of the total number of infections, and in Europe, the
\ncontinent with the largest number of deaths. The WHO warns that COVID-19 might
\nseriously hit Japan next, unless this country takes swift prevention measures.
\nIn Europe, the number of infections in Spain has exceeded that of Italy,
\nstanding at some 11,000. Italy instead is reporting decreasing number of
\ninfections, and the death toll is closing in on 15,000. France reports the third-largest
\nnumber of victims, over 6,500. <\/p>\n
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RECESSION -The coronavirus pandemic has brought the global economy
\nto a standstill and plunged the world into a recession that will be way worse
\nthan the global financial crisis a decade ago, the head of the International
\nMonetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva said on Friday. The IMF official called on
\nadvanced economies to step up their efforts to help emerging markets and
\ndeveloping countries survive the economic and health impact of the pandemic. A
\nsimilar message was delivered by World Bank President, David Malpass. The
\nEuropean Commission and the European Investment Bank have green-lit the
\ndisbursement of 700 million euros to the agri-food sector as part of the
\nInvestment Plan for Europe. The program will help maintain and create new jobs
\nin rural areas. The Commission has announced a temporary suspension of customs
\ntaxes and VAT for medical and protection imports from outside the EU, which
\nwill ease pressure on public spending for national governments. <\/p>\n
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LEGISLATION – Parliament on Friday passed three bills regarding the
\nsuspension of the bank loan payments, technical unemployment and fiscal
\nmeasures aimed at helping individuals and businesses. The plenary session was
\nheld online and MPs voted via telephone. Under the first bill, initiated by the
\nSocial Democrats, bank loan payments can be suspended on demand, without
\ninterest rates or penalties. The Social-Democrats say the document will correct
\nerrors in the emergency decree passed by the Liberal Government. The Liberals,
\nin power, say they will refer the bill to the Constitutional Court, saying it
\nis a populist measure that piles up pressure on the state budget. The Liberals
\nwill also challenge the bill that postpones the payment of social security
\ncontributions and utility bills for a period of three months, which addresses
\npeople who have filed for technical unemployment benefits. All parties in
\nParliament voted the bill that proposes the payment of an allowance tantamount
\nto 75% of the base salary of employees affected by the reduction or suspension
\nof activity. <\/p>\n
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PALM SUNDAY – Catholic Christians worldwide are celebrating Palm
\nSunday, marking the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where the crowd welcomed
\nhim holding palm branches. Palm Sunday marks the start of the last week of
\nLent, also known as Holy Week, when Christians prepare to celebrate the
\nResurrection of Christ. This year, due to restrictions caused by the
\ncoronavirus pandemic, masses in Romania as well as in other countries will be
\ncelebrated in empty churches and broadcast on TV, radio or online. The Church
\nurges everyone during this pandemic to discover the beauty and plenitude of
\nprayer, praying with our loved ones in our churches at home, with our families,
\nthe spokesman of the Roman-Catholic Diocese in Bucharest, Father Francisc Dobos
\nhas said, adding that the situation is not ideal, but is the best possible one.
\nBy uniting in spirit via various means of communication, television, radio or
\nthe Internet, we stay together with Christ, Francisc Dobos added. This year
\nRoman-Catholic Christians celebrate Easter on April 12, while Orthodox
\nChristians on April 19. <\/p>\n
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(Translated by V. Palcu)<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":75903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[35374,31550,35448,32632,28903,35449,30074],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-104249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-covid-19","tag-emergency-decree","tag-global-recession","tag-health-ministry","tag-imf","tag-new-legislation","tag-palm-sunday"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n