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PM Orban: We are at a watershed moment, rise in COVID-19 cases caused by failure to observe safety rules
Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said the high number of new coronavirus infections is the result of failure to comply with the health protection rules imposed by the authorities.
"Today we registered the largest single-day COVID-19 caseload - 555 Romanians who were declared positive after being diagnosed. In the past four weeks we have seen case numbers rise from one week to another. Unlike other countries, the government I am heading approached the lockdown easing in a gradual manner, with a phased lift of restrictions, with the phased introduction of relaxation measures as the activities that had been under lockdown resumed progressively. And yet, following the rise in human interactions, we have seen the caseload rise from one week to another. The main cause for the increase in the number of cases is non-compliance with health rules, with the requirement to wear a mask, maintain physical sanitary distance, avoid close contact, the failure to observe hygiene rules, such as hand washing, avoiding to touch one's face and all the other ordered rules. We are now at a watershed moment, the risk that the number of cases will rise persists," Ludovic Orban said on Wednesday at the Victoria Palace of Government.
He emphasized that the government is keeping watch together with all the other authorities involved in the fight against COVID and voiced his confidence that Parliament will adopt the bill on quarantine and isolation.
"Every time, when necessary, we have taken all measures to protect the Romanians' health and life. In all the situations created as a result of the decisions taken by institutions other than government institutions, we put solutions on the table and demanded that they be adopted and we also made sure that they are implemented. Today I send a message of confidence that Parliament will understand our situation and will adopt the law providing us with all the instruments all the governments of civilized countries, of EU countries, have at hand, specifically the possibility to order quarantine, isolation at home, the possibility of treating infected people in an environment under the control of doctors and medical staff. These are fundamental things we need in order to remain efficient in the fight against the pandemic," Orban pointed out.
The head of the Executive explained that "the government alone, the authorities alone cannot ensure the containment of the epidemic and the return to normalcy".
"We need the involvement of all the other institutions. We need all political leaders, all their representatives in public institutions, in local government authorities to act responsibly. We need a serious and responsible involvement of all the companies, because these companies are responsible for the observance of the health rules that have been established by the government and the competent authorities. We need every Romanian citizen to be with us in this battle against an unprecedented epidemic that threatens Romanian society and that can endanger any Romanian," was Premier Orban's message.