Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu

Head of the Emergency Situations Department (DSU) Raed Arafat announced on Thursday evening that from May 15, all persons arriving in Romania, regardless of which country, will be ordered home isolation.

A number of 245 new cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus have been recorded in Romania since the last information, bringing the total case count to 16,247, the the Strategic Communication Group (GCS), the official coronavirus communication task force, reported on Thursday at noon. Of the people confirmed positive, 9,053 have been declared cured and discharged.

The government will adopt today an emergency ordinance regulating the measures for Romania's transition to a state of alert from a state of emergency declared as a result of the novel coronavirus epidemic that ends on May 15.

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.

Health Minister Nelu Tataru said on Wednesday evening that the government will make a series of decisions on Thursday that will create the administrative framework to allow for certain restrictions to be imposed during the state of alert.

As many as 224 new cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus have been recorded in Romania since the last report, bringing the total count to 16,002, the Group of Strategic Communication (GCS), the official coronavirus communication task force, reported on Wednesday at noon. Of the people confirmed positive 7,961 have been declared cured and discharged.

As many as 89.3% of people infected with the novel coronavirus in Romania who died had at least one comorbidity, according to a report by the National Centre for Surveillance and Control of Communicable Diseases with the National Institute of Public Health.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has downgraded its estimates of Romania's economic developments in 2020 as a result of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the bank's latest Regional Economic Prospects published on Wednesday.

A bill initiated by the government on measures to prevent and combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in a state of alert will be debated and voted on today by the Chamber of Deputies. The bill will be considered by the specialist committees, which will issue a report that will be submitted to the Chamber at today's meeting for a plenary vote.

The first pillar of Romania's economic reconstruction that the Government is thinking of is public investment in transport, energy infrastructure, health, education, communications and agriculture, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said on Tuesday. "We are working on a plan of economic and social measures. The plan will include several categories of measures.