May 12, 2020 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 12.05.2020, 20:00

Talks. Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis Tuesday had fresh talks with members of the government on measures to manage the Covid-19 outbreak. In a statement following the meeting, the head of state announced the measures to be introduced as of May 15. Wearing protective face masks becomes compulsory indoors, as does a distance of 1.5 m between people. Klaus Iohannis added that beauty salons, museums and shops that are not located inside shopping centres will reopen. Local authorities are urged to also reopen parks to the public. At the same time, the obligation to stay at home and to carry a written statement detailing the purpose of going out will be lifted. A written statement will only be required when leaving ones home locality. The president explained traveling outside ones home town or village will only be permitted for job-related purposes, individual sports and farm work. As for religious services, in a fist stage they can be held outdoors, with believers wearing face masks and keeping a 1.5 m distance from one another. Professional athletes may resume training under special conditions, but competitions are still suspended. Non-professional athletes may only resume individual sports and outdoor practice. The president concluded by saying that the bill regulating these measures must be endorsed immediately, and called on Parliament to do so as soon as possible.

Motion A
simple motion against the Romanian agriculture minister Adrian Oros, tabled by
the Social Democrats in opposition, will be debated on Monday. The Social
Democrat Petre Daea, former agriculture minister, argues that since the Orban
Cabinet took power, the normal course of agriculture programmes has been hindered.
He warns that farmers are now in a difficult position, among others because the
authorities have either blocked or delayed some ongoing programmes. The Social
Democrats also claim that the agriculture minister failed to take concrete
measures with respect to the drought and the grain exports during the corona
crisis. In response, Adrian Oros argues that the motion is proof that he has
disrupted certain groups of interests which controlled the ministry in recent
years.

Workers. The minister for labour and social protection Violeta Alexandru says she will travel to Germany to look into the working conditions of Romanian workers. She made this announcement hours after being heard by Parliament on the subject of Romanian workers abroad in the context of the pandemic. The minister said people should be respected the freedom to choose the country where they wish to work. She also called on Romanian workers abroad not to accept employment without a legal contract.

Covid-19 Romania. According to the latest toll, infections pass 15,770 in Romania and over 1,000 people have died. Almost 7,700 people have recovered. The highest number of cases was recorded in Suceava, in the north-east, and in the capital Bucharest. Among the Romanians living abroad, more than 2,800 have been infected and 102 have died.

Covid-19 world. The European Commission has forwarded to Member States a roadmap for the gradual lifting of COVID-19 containment measures. The document focuses on monitoring the pandemic. The lifting of restrictions on citizens freedom of movement should be proportionate and non-discriminating, the Commission warns, after several member countries initiated bilateral talks on border crossing provisions. Quarantine measures are to be regulated by national authorities, but the roadmap stipulates that such measures must be taken, maintained or lifted based on scientific and epidemiological criteria and in keeping with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control guidelines. The roadmap also requires countries to provide statistics on the coronavirus outbreak at national and regional level. According to the latest data, infections worldwide pass 4.2 million, while the death toll rose to 287,000. In the United States, which is the worst hit country in the world, the death toll hit 107,000. In Europe, the UK is the worst hit country, with over 32,000 deaths, followed by Italy (over 30,000) and Spain (over 26,000).

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu, CM)