Romania moves to stage four as number of coronavirus cases passes 2,000 mark

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Romania passed the 2,000 mark Monday evening, moving the country to stage four in the fight against the disease.

Top emergency management official Raed Arafat, announced that more than 2,100 positive COVID-19 cases were confirmed, of which 593 were in the city of Suceava.

"The report of the National Centre for Command and Coordination of Intervention at 20:00hrs shows that there are currently 2,109 confirmed cases in the country, and 65 deaths that are caused by COVID-19. And I want to underline the special situation in which the city of Suceava finds itself. Of the 2,109 confirmed cases, 593 are in that city alone," Arafat told a news briefing at the headquarters of the Interior Ministry (MAI) on Monday evening.

In the same context, Interior Minister Marcel Vela announced the issuance of Military Ordinance 6 under which the city of Suceava and the environs made up of eight small towns is placed on full lockdown and a buffer zone is set up around parts of the county of Suceava.

"Art. 1 - A lockdown measure is set in place during the state of emergency in Suceava and in the surrounding area consisting of the following eight communes: Adancata, Salcea, Ipotesti, Bosanci, Moara, Scheia, Patrauti and Mitocu Dragomirnei. Art. 2 A buffer zone is hereby set up during the state of emergency as a security perimeter around the quarantined places consisting of all the other administrative territorial units of Suceava County. Art. 3 - In the quarantine area provided for in Article 1 entrance and exit shall be permitted to a) freight transport, regardless of its nature, of the raw materials and resources needed to carry out economic activities in the quarantine area, as well as the supply of goods to the population; b) persons not dwelling in the lockdown area but who carry out there economic activities or work in the areas of defence, public order, national security, health, emergency management, local public administration, social assistance and protection, the judiciary, public utility services, energy, agriculture, food, water supply, communications and transport," reads the military ordinance.

According to Art. 8 of the ordinance, "Access to the Stefan cel Mare International Airport of Suceava is allowed only to flights performed on state aircraft, freight and mail, humanitarian or emergency medical services flights, as well as technical landings." "Art. 10 - Access to localities through other areas or access ways other than those open to public circulation on European, national, county and communal roads are strictly forbidden."

On Monday evening, the Strategic Communication Group (GCS), a coronavirus communication task force, announced that 13 more cases of novel coronavirus infections had been confirmed in Romania, all of them lethal, which brought the coronavirus death toll to 65.

All the 13 people, aged between 40 and 80, had been admitted to the Suceava County Emergency Hospital, to several wards: nephrology, internal medicine, plastic surgery, and gastroenterology.

The deaths were recorded between March 22 and 29, and the date of confirmation of the positive results is March 30.

"Between March 22 and 29, 22 deaths were recorded in Suceava, of which 9 were reported and were communicated publicly. The hospital in Suceava was closed on March 25 for 48 hours, and the deaths were among the inpatients of this hospital; we do not currently have detailed information regarding when test samples were collected for the deceased, whether before or after death. Epidemiological investigations by the new Suceava Public Health Department management are underway," GCS reported.