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President Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday that the state of alert needs to be extended so that the government has the necessary levers to take decisions in special cases, but that he would rather have "a simpler, leaner version" of the state of alert, with some mandatory requirements - indoor mask-wearing, distancing, hygiene measures.
"Regrettably, this pandemic has rolled upon us regardless of who was at rule. In all honesty, I am very pleased that we had a Liberal government with whom we've been able to manage this epidemic, and I want to emphasize that the government, the authorities have taken all the due actions and the right steps in time. Unfortunately, it's not over yet. We would all have wished to get rid of this epidemic sooner. Even today we have over 200 new cases, so we cannot talk about the epidemic as being a thing of the past. The virus is still in the community and for the government to have the necessary levers for taking the due measures when necessary, I consider that the state of alert needs to be extended. (...) I don't want the prolongation of the state of alert with all the measures that are now in force. I want a simpler, a leaner version that contains exactly those requirements that must remain mandatory, for example wearing a mask indoors, distancing, hygiene measures. Just think that without the state of alert instrument, the ministers can no longer issue orders in support of the doctors and of the public health. There are practical reasons that make us believe that we must continue," said the head of the state.
President Iohannis laid wreaths on Thursday at the Memorial to the June 13 - 15, 1990 miners' rampage, and at the Monument of "Democracy Kilometer Zero", marking the 30th anniversary of the University Square Phenomenon and of the 1990 miners' rampage.
