CORONAVIRUS ROMANIA
\n– The authorities are considering four scenarios which could be imposed after
\nMay 15: extending the state of emergency, declaring a state of alert, issuing a
\ndecree on a high-risk epidemic and, finally, taking no special measures, Prime
\nMinister Ludovic Orban said on Wednesday. A decision will be taken as the
\ndeadline draws near, depending on the evolution of the pandemic. Previously,
\nPresident Klaus Iohannis said easing restrictions starting May 15 doesn’t mean
\nlife will return to normal, because the danger hasn’t passed. In turn, Health
\nMinister Nelu Tataru said that Romania is still heading towards the peak of the
\npandemic, but that in the next two weeks the number of new infections is
\nexpected to drop from one day to the next. Over 12,000 infections have been confirmed
\nin Romania so far, some 700 people have died and over 3,500 have recovered.
\nAround 2,200 Romanians abroad have tested positive for COVID-19, 88 of whom
\nhave died.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
PANDEMIC – A
\nnumber of countries have announced they will ease the restrictions imposed due
\nto the pandemic. In France and Greece schools will open gradually starting May
\n11, while in Spain and Italy students will return to school in autumn. Hotels
\nin Poland will be open to tourists during the summer while Bulgaria, Greece and
\nTurkey plan to open the tourist season on July 1. Football clubs in Spain will
\nresume training starting May 4, while in Portugal sports competitions will
\nresume gradually. In the US, where the number of infections exceeds 1 million, President
\nDonald Trump signed an executive order calling on meat producers to maintain
\ntheir activity, amidst news of several slaughterhouses shutting down. The
\nFederal Government will provide protection equipment for all employees in the
\nsector. An updated death toll published by John Hopkins University shows the
\nnumber of fatalities in the US is higher than the number of American soldiers
\nkilled in two decades during the Vietnam War. The global number of infections
\nexceeds 3.1 million, the most number of cases being reported in the US, Spain,
\nItaly, France, the UK and Germany. Some 220,000 people died to the coronavirus
\nworldwide and over 965,000 have recovered.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
DRAFT LAW -
\nRomanian President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday harshly criticized the tacit
\nadoption, by the Chamber of Deputies, of a draft law regarding the autonomy of
\nthe so-called Szeckler Land, a region in central Romania hosting the Hungarian
\ncommunity. Iohannis made it clear he would not promulgate the law. According to
\nthe draft law initiated by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in
\nRomania, the region should have its own administrative organization, public
\nauthorities and institutions and Hungarian should be its official language. The
\nregion would include the counties of Covasna, Harghita and part of Mures
\nCounty. The Legislative Council, the Economic and Social Council and the
\nGovernment have not green-lit the project. The Senate too on Wednesday gave a
\nnegative vote. Social-Democrat Chamber of Deputies Speaker, Marcel Ciolacu,
\nsaid his party has voted against the bill in the chamber’s specialized
\ncommittees. On the other hand, the Liberals say the tacit adoption would have
\nsignaled a political agreement between the Social-Democrats and the Democratic
\nUnion of Ethnic Hungarians. Prior to the vote, the Save Romania Union had also
\nannounced its Senators would vote against the bill, saying it goes against the
\nConstitution. The president of the People’s Movement Party, Eugen Tomac, said
\nWednesday’s vote represents one of the biggest humiliations Parliament has
\never subjected Romania and its people to, which is a sign of political
\nweakness.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
MISSION – A team
\nof Romanian doctors and nurses, set up on a volunteer basis, will leave
\nThursday for the Republic of Moldova, where they will help medical units
\ninvolved in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Romania will also give
\nMoldova a financial assistance package to help the country fight the
\ncoronavirus. Over April 7-24, a team made up of 11 doctors and 4 nurses were in
\nLombardy, Italy, where they contributed to the treatment of patients infected
\nwith coronavirus. The mission, which was also carried out on a volunteer basis,
\nwas conducted as part of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The Romanian
\nForeign Ministry has approved the issuance of diplomatic passports to the
\npersonnel of Romanian medical missions to Italy and the Republic of Moldova, as
\na sign of great respect and appreciation for their efforts in fighting the
\nCOVID-19 pandemic. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
(Translated by V. Palcu & Elena Enache)<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/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":[32988,35374,30168,35488,35494,35496,35495],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-104302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-autonomy","tag-covid-19","tag-ludovic-orban","tag-mobility-restrictions","tag-romanian-authorities","tag-romanian-doctors","tag-szeckler-land"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n