BUCHAREST — Romania reported its highest number of daily infections with the new coronavirus in two months on Thursday, as it prepares to assess a new phase of relaxation next week.
President Klaus Iohannis ordered a strict lockdown in early March to help rein in the outbreak and replaced the state of emergency with a softer state of alert in May, that is set to run until mid-July.
“Today, unfortunately, we witness higher numbers than usual, but I hope this will change … I call on the population to maintain rules of hygiene, those rules of precaution and physical distance,” Health Minister Nelu Tataru said.
The government said Romania has recorded 25,286 cases of COVID-19 infections, of which approximately 18,000 patients have recovered and 1,565 have died. In the last 24 hours, you have registered 460 new instances.
A third of the instances of Romania is concentrated in 3 cities: the capital Bucharest, the northern city of Suceava and the medieval city of Transylvania of Brasov.
The social democratic opposition accused Iohannis and his centrist government of trying to remake life with “fines and restrictions” and manipulate knowledge about viral infections.
The government said it was only seeking to protect Romanians from the virus and blamed the opposition for unsubstantiated accusations. The health government has said that others have begun to be more lax in terms of protection rules.
Under the state of alert, a ban on travel without official permission was lifted and restaurants with outdoor seating reopened along with swimming pools and shopping malls. (Reporting by Radu Marinas Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
Sign up for news from the National Post, a department of Postmedia Network Inc.
There was an error, please provide a valid email address.
A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Posted Newsletter will soon be in your inbox.
We found a challenge when you signed up. Please check again
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a civil discussion forum yet and encourages all readers to express their views on our articles. Comments can take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask that you keep your comments applicable and respectful. We’ve enabled email notifications. You will now receive an email if you get a reaction to your comment, an update to a comment thread that follows, or if a user follows it. Check out our network regulations for more data and main points on how to adjust your email settings.
365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4
© 2020 National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited.
It uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads) and allows us to analyze our traffic. Learn more about cookies here. By proceeding to use our site, you agree to our terms of use and our privacy policy.