April 25, 2020 UPDATE

A news update

Newsroom, 25.04.2020, 19:44

Covid-19 Romania — On Saturday the Romanian authorities announced 22 new deaths from COVID-19 infection, which takes the death toll to 601. Official statistical data show that the number of deaths accounts for 6% of the total number of people confirmed with Covid-19 infection. The same statistics shows that 218 new cases of coronavirus infection have been reported, less by over 100 cases than the last figure reported on Friday. 10,635 Romanians have been confirmed with coronavirus infection, of whom 235 are in intensive care units. So far, 2,890 patients have recovered from the infection, Abroad, as many as 1,500 Romanian citizens have been confirmed with Covid-19 infection, and 73 have died.

Transport — A plane of the Romanian Air Forces on Saturday brought back to Romania the team of 11 physicians and 6 nurses who participated in Italy, from April 7 to 24, in missions aimed at saving the people affected by the new coronavirus, alongside the Italian medical staff. The plane also transported to Italy 90 thousand FFP2 type face masks and brought to Romania 5 ventilators and protective medical equipment donated by Pope Francis to the hospital Suceava, an area of Romania hardest hit by the pandemic. The Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church Daniel and the Romanian authorities have thanked the Pope for the donation. The Romanian Foreign Ministry considers that the initiative proves the Pope’s solidarity with Romania, the excellent relationship and the very good cooperation between Romania and the Vatican, in the context of the celebration, this year, of 100 years of diplomatic relations between the two states. We remind you that in 1999, Romania became the first majority Orthodox country that was visited by a sovereign pontiff, Pope John Paul II.

WHO – The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that there was currently “no evidence” that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second coronavirus infection. In a scientific brief, the UN warned governments against issuing ‘immunity passports’ or ‘risk-free certificates’ to people who have been infected because their accuracy could not be guaranteed. All over the world, more than 2.7 million people have been infected with Covid-19 and the number of deaths is nearing 200 thousand. Europe reports most of the deaths, with Italy, Spain and France remaining the most affected countries. Italy reports more than 25,000 deaths, Spain (over 22,000), France (around 22,000) and Great Britain (almost 19,000). Almost 59,000 people have died in the US due to COVID-19 infection. However, the situation is beginning to stabilize in many parts of Europe and more and more governments are talking about a gradual relaxation of restrictions. Some of the countries have even announced measures in this regard.

Talks — The Romanian President Klaus on Saturday had a phone conversation with his American counterpart Donald Trump, upon the request of the American side. According to the Romanian presidential administration, the talks focused on the crisis generated by the new coronavirus and on the ways to consolidate the trans-Atlantic relation and the Romanian-American Strategic Partnership. President Iohannis expressed his appreciation for the US support, also referring to the help provided by the American side in relation to using the transport planes under the aegis of the NATO Strategic Airlift Capability. The planes brought to Romania protective equipment essential for the medical staff. In turn, President Donald Trump showed his intention to send ventilators to equip hospitals in Romania.

Moody’s — Moody’s rating agency reconfirmed the rating of Romania’s government debt at Baa3/A-3 for the long and short term debt in hard and local currency and changed the country’s outlook from stable to negative, the Romanian Finance Ministry informed on Saturday. According to the quoted source, Moody’s decision to reconfirm the country’s rating is based on Romania’s potential for solid economic growth, even in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and of the Romanian state’s moderate institutional capacity. (tr. L. Simion)