12 April 2020, UPDATE

Holy Week begins for Eastern Christians amid coronavirus lockdown and a rising death toll.

Newsroom, 12.04.2020, 19:30

Toll. Another 23 people infected with coronavirus have died in Romania, where the death toll now stands at 314. 6,300 have caught the virus and 852 have recovered. 696 infections and 44 deaths were reported among the Romanians living abroad. The outbreak is expected to peak over the coming period after a record 500 new cases were reported on Saturday. The authorities emphasise that restrictions and social distancing norms must be respected now more than ever.

World. The coronavirus pandemic is expected to dominate the agenda of Germany’s EU presidency in second half of the year, the German foreign minister Heiko Maas told the daily Die Welt, quoted by Reuters. Maas criticised the US for being too slow and China as authoritarian. The pandemic has now spread to 214 countries and territories. On Saturday, the death toll in the United States rose to 18,860, overtaking Italy. The US has the highest number of infections and on Friday became the first country in the world to pass 2,000 deaths in a single day. New York has seen more than 700 deaths every day for five days in a row. All 50 US states are under a disaster declaration simultaneously, with Wyoming being the final state to get one. This allows local states and governments to use emergency federal funds.

Easter. Holy Week begins in Romania for Orthodox and Greek Catholic Christians, a period commemorating the most dramatic moments in the life of Christ leading up to his crucifixion and resurrection on Easter Sunday. This year, churches remain closed to the faithful around the world, including majority Orthodox Romania, due to the restrictions imposed by the health crisis caused by the new coronavirus. Services are held behind closed doors, being streamlined on the Internet and broadcast live on the radio and on TV. Roman-Catholic and Protestant Christians celebrated Easter, a week before Orthodox Christians. In his Easter message, pope Francis spoke about the situation generated by the coronavirus pandemic, saying that for many, this is an Easter of solitude. He said his thoughts go out to those who are sick with coronavirus, their families and those who died.

Repatriation. The Romanian ministry of foreign affairs said it facilitated the repatriation of 117 Romanian citizens from France, Belgium and The Netherlands on Saturday. They were in these countries temporarily as tourists in transit, students, sailors, persons in special situations and with medical emergencies, as well as seasonal workers whose contracts were terminated and who did not have the resources to finance their continued stay. The ministry has again called on the population to avoid all non-essential foreign travel to prevent the spread of the virus and has advised Romanian citizens residing abroad to avoid travelling to Romania for the time being.

Recession. 68 countries are expected to go into recession this year for the first time since 2009, corporate insolvencies to increase by 25%, and world trade to drop by 4.3%, according to a Coface barometer. The report also forecasts that the credit risk of companies will rise sharply even if economic activity restarts gradually in the third quarter. This trend would affect the US and all major west European economies, such as Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain, but the shock could be even more violent in the emerging economies, which, apart from the pandemic, are also faced with the fall in oil prices. Coface works in credit insurance, risk management and global economy. (Tr.: CM)