Senate vote on quarantine and isolation bill deferred to Monday

The Senate's Law Committee decided on Saturday by a vote of 6 to 2 and three abstentions to act at the request of the Social Democratic Party's (PSD – opposition) representatives and postpone until Monday the debate on the quarantine and isolation bill.

PSD Senator Robert Cazanciuc requested the postponement in order to study EU relevant practices, mentioning that the version of the regulatory act received from the government lacks consistency and "the citizens are entitled to a law that protects them."

"My suggestion is that we should make a good law for Romania. The committee staff stayed up until 4 in the morning because the version received from the government was not consistent. (...) We tried to hammer out a better text. There are still unclear mechanisms provided for in this law. People need to know how they can be hospitalized and protected from abuse. (...) Our common interest is to have a law in place that protects people, not an act that is merely published in the Official Journal so that we can say that we did our job. We are tired of shallow acts, (...) let us make a good law that stands the constitutional test. (...) People expect us to produce good laws, not to deceive them that we have a law published in the Official Journal. People know how to protect themselves, they are aware that we are in an extremely delicate moment," said Cazanciuc.

Liberal Senator Iulia Scantei countered that PSD's proposal means non-compliance with the decision to call the Senate plenary for Saturday and warned that this will have implications for the citizens' health.

"Since June 25, when the Constitutional Court published the ruling of unconstitutionality (...) the entire country and all citizens have been left in a state of instability, I am referring not just to the infected citizens, but to the broad mass and all the communities that are currently healthy and need to be protected. Since that day we've had sick patients who refuse to be hospitalized. If we postpone this till Monday, we delay the adoption of the bill and allow the travel of sick and infected people. We want the vote to be cast today and consider it is important for the health of all citizens," said the Liberal senator.

She also argued that the Law Committee has improved the bill and called for its adoption to fill the current "legislative void".

Liberal Senator Daniel Fenechiu said that "PSD is trying to postpone legislation in this area, with consequences as obvious as possible".

"If we had passed the law today, the term for appeal in Court would have expired tomorrow, on Monday the President could have promulgated it and on Thursday it would have already produced effects. If we postpone things for Monday, the law could only become applicable next Sunday or Monday. We didn't say that the law is perfect, but when we are discussing the rights of a minority who are currently contaminated, with or without symptoms, by postponing the legislation we do nothing else but endanger the health and lives of the vast majority of the population. It's a consequence those who seek postponement until Monday must take responsibility for. (...) I know that there's a political decision that my PSD colleagues must respect. Everyone should know that the reason for the postponement has to do with the will of the Senate majority," said Fenechiu, adding that the law can be perfected later.

PSD Senator Liviu Brailoiu argued that no European country has such a law in force.

"This is not about politicking, (...) there is no urgency about that. No country in Europe has such a law. (...) There is no such law in France. Other countries that have been badly hit by this virus (...) like Italy and Spain, which didn't have 13 deaths as we reported today and yesterday, but 1,800 to 2,000 fatalities daily still didn't rush with such a law that restricts the citizens' freedoms anyway. This is about sick people in general, it's not just about SARS-CoV, the law will be in effect for years. (...) I agree with the colleagues who want a postponement, a debate that ensures a good legal framework for all the citizens and not a five-minute debate, as we've become accustomed to since the PNL government sends us bills on short notice. We need a law that respects all the rights and freedoms of the citizens. In Sweden such a law was rejected in its entirety, and Sweden has a greater loss of lives than Romania. Why issue today a law that is of no help in fighting this disease? Let's study a little more and come up on Monday with a law that really helps the citizens," said Brailoiu.

The Senate had a plenary session scheduled for Saturday to debate and vote on the bill in its capacity as decision-making body.

În turn, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said he is outraged and shocked over the Senate's decision to postpone the debate and approval of the government's quarantine and isolation bill for Monday.

"Allow me to send a message of outrage and shock over the Senate's postponing the debate and approval of the law that should provide us with the indispensable tools we need in the fight against the epidemic. Postponing the adoption of the law means a dramatic increase in the risk of infection. (...) I cannot understand why the PSD are digging their heels in, putting sand in our wheels and preventing us from adopting decisions that are vital for defending the Romanians' health and life. This politically-laden game, this systematic sabotaging of the Romanian authorities in the battle against the epidemic no longer affects only us, it affects the people's lives and health, and implicitly our ability to effectively fight this epidemic. I am asking them once again: pass this law! The law is not very complicated, it allows the competent authorities to order simple measures in the situation of an epidemic: isolation at home, quarantine, local quarantine. What would have happened in Tandarei, for instance, had we not been able to order quarantine? The virus would have probably spread in the entire Ialomita County and beyond," Ludovic Orban said on Saturday.
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Romania's novel coronavirus caseload increased by a total of 1,154 since our last report, with 698 cases reported on Saturday and 456 on Sunday; the total case count was 32,535 as of Sunday at noon, said the Strategic Communication Group (GCS), the official novel coronavirus communication task force.

As many as 243 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care.

Of the people confirmed positive, 23,387 were discharged, of whom 21,545 patients were cured, 1,485 symptomless patients were discharged 10 days after detection and 532 were discharged on request.

To date, 847,586 tests have been processed nationwide, GCS said.

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