Coronavirus lockdown to end in Romania today

Romania has entered today its last day of a coronavirus lockdown, two months after its establishment by presidential decree. On May 4, President Klaus Iohannis announced that the state of emergency would not be extended. "The state of emergency will not be extended, I will not issue a new decree to extend the state of emergency and thus May 14 is the last day we will be under a state of emergency. From May 15, to keep the epidemic under control, we will enter a so-called state of alert, (...) which is provided by specific legislation that clarifies how to act in the event of an epidemic and we are clearly, unfortunately, in an epidemic of COVID-19," Iohannis said back then. He ordered a first 30-day lockdown on March 16, after which he extended it on April 14 for another 30 days. The state of emergency in Romania came just days after the World Health Organisation declared a coronavirus pandemic. To date, more than a thousand deaths have been reported in Romania from the SARS-CoV-2 virus and over 16,000 infected people, according to the latest count presented by the Strategic Communication Group (GCS), the official coronavirus communication task force. There are still 14,313 people in institutional quarantine in the country, and another 18,980 are in isolation at home and under medical monitoring. According to the latest report, most of the coronavirus cases are in Suceava - 3,317, Bucharest - 1,555, Neamt - 785, Arad - 679, Botosani - 632, Mures - 621, Brasov - 594, Hunedoara - 589, Galati - 522, Cluj - 516. The state of emergency declared on March 16 included emergency measures with direct applicability in the areas of public order, economy, health, employment and social protection, justice and foreign affairs, as well as emergency measures with gradual applicability. By a decree of April 14 regarding the extension of the state of emergency for another 30 days, first emergency measures were applied with direct applicability concerning the fields of public order, civilians, the economy, European funds, health, employment and social protection, justice, foreign affairs, transport and infrastructure, education and research. During this period, 12 military ordinances were issued with measures in all these areas. After the state of emergency is lifted, a state of alert will be declared. Parliament has adopted a government bill of measures for the state of alert, after bringing some amendments to the initial bill AGERPRES (RO - author: Andreea Rotaru, editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Rodica State)