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President Klaus Iohannis will offer a press conference on Wednesday, at 6:00 p.m., in the Cotroceni Palace, the day on which the worst balance of the coronavirus epidemic in our country was announced: almost 3,000 new cases, 82 deaths and 612 patients in intensive care.
HotNews.ro broadcasts VIDEO and LIVETEXT the most important statements of President Iohannis.
- Romania has experienced the largest increase in the number of cases since the beginning of the epidemic in the last week.
- We have extremely worrying numbers of deaths and patients in ATI
- The current trend is one of accelerated growth leading to overcrowding in hospitals and, sadly, an increasing number of deaths.
- Restrictive measures are inevitable
- The sooner they are introduced, the faster they will take effect
- I send a special message of gratitude and appreciation to the physicians and medical staff for their professionalism and dedication.
- These extraordinary people deserve our respect and admiration.
- We trust our doctors
- The next few months will not be easy
- I assure doctors, nurses, hospital directors that I am with them and that together we will face this crisis.
- It is a fight in which we all have a great responsibility
- I repeat, the epidemiological situation does not allow us to return to the normality that we had before the pandemic.
- The greater the number of patients, the further we move away from this long-awaited moment
- Once again we are at a critical juncture and we have a fundamental choice to make for our future
- Do we want to go down a path that leads to an explosion of cases? It is a path at the end of which much suffering awaits us
- Or we choose to have a social life and jobs
- Wearing a mask, social distancing, hand hygiene, avoiding congestion, working from home, are in our power
- No matter how many steps the authorities take, they lose their effectiveness if some of our peers refuse to participate in this collective effort.
- The virus that has affected our lives is coming to life
- All the dead left a huge void in the hearts of their loved ones
- Rational behavior and small sacrifices can save the lives of our fellow men.
- Let’s be in solidarity
Press questions
Antenna 3: Why can’t we increase the testing capacity?
Klaus Iohannis: The number of tests increases from week to week. But it is a double problem. Not only are the devices being tested still insufficient, qualified personnel cannot be invented overnight. Its preparation takes years and years. We should not expect miracles, things are improving, but if we are not careful the paperwork will be faster than us
B1 TV: The first restrictions have arrived, what will happen if the expected results do not appear in the next two weeks?
Klaus Iohannis: We will react locally and regionally. We don’t need to shut down the entire country if we have major outbreaks, there will be action. We still have very different situations in different localities. We have cities and communes where there are almost no patients and then it is very good to act locally, focused
Libertad: Have you done enough to reverse the growing trend toward attention to electoral issues?
Klaus Iohannis: Romanian politics is threatened by PSD, health from Covid, we must address both sides. This increase in the number of patients worries us more than the next elections. Things will probably get more complicated in the colder weather. The political approach is necessary, society advances, we do not want to stop in the middle of the disease. The authorities reacted correctly, but no one can expect that the government will only stop the epidemic, it is a shared responsibility. The citizen probably has a greater responsibility, the disease is not transmitted from one institution to another, but from one person to another. It is not good to mix these things up, but sometimes politicians get it wrong.
Agerpres: One area affected by the pandemic is cultural. What are the arguments for closing theaters and cinemas?
Klaus Iohannis: Culture is one of the areas most affected. But it is clear that we are talking about measures taken by the authorities on the advice of experts, who recommend what measures should be taken to stop the spread of the virus. Unfortunately, culture often manifests itself through performances, where people come together and experts believe bigger. I hope we get through this difficult period, including the Romanian culture.
Digi 24: Is it appropriate to hold parliamentary elections?
Klaus Iohannis: A democracy does not work without elections. It worked reasonably well in local elections. It is clear that if the number of cases increases, the campaign will take place under even more special conditions, but elections must be held. This parliament expires on December 20, even if it remains, it can no longer pass organic laws. How long could we postpone the elections? The constitution says a maximum of 3 months, I don’t think anyone imagines that in three months the situation will be much better in winter to spring. The conditions are special, we are in a pandemic, but we have to find a way to do more campaigns online and go to the polls. The act of voting itself is no more dangerous than going for bread, for example.
The Epoch Times: The latest EC report talks about the importance of the independence of the media authorities. How do you assess the performance of the CNA in this electoral campaign?
Klaus Iohannis: At CNA there are highly qualified and independent people who do their jobs very well. But it is based on a political vote and reflects the majority in Parliament, more PSD members than anything else. Another formula needs to be found to have truly independent people in the NAC. The CNA as a whole could do a better job
Reality PLUS: Can we talk about the state of emergency again?
Klaus Iohannis: I think good decisions have been made, but a pandemic is not a political choice and it is not bad luck, it is a catastrophe that we have to live with until we find solutions. This pandemic was nobody’s choice, it occurred regardless of who is in power. Little by little we learned something, how it spreads, and we can have a life somewhat close to normal, we can have a somewhat functional economy and yes, very unfortunate, we have many who have died from this disease. The authorities have their role to play, each one has a responsibility to comply with the restrictions, and the disease will spread much more slowly, the health system will manage and when we find a vaccine we can get rid of this virus. Until then, we must be responsible and make those little sacrifices. It will take longer, the end of the pandemic is not imminent. Only together can we restrict the spread of the disease.
G4 Media: Do you intend to find solutions so that secret service information can be used as evidence in criminal proceedings?
Klaus Iohannis: I do not intend to delegate services in criminal proceedings or trials. The criminal investigation is carried out by prosecutors. The secret services have nothing to look for in this area. The services attend to your problems and if during the activity they report possible criminal acts, they notify the competent prosecutor’s office, without providing evidence. I do not intend to ask for changes to the laws to return to the previous situation.
The truth: a bill provides for the postponement of the March elections. Will you enact the law?
Klaus Iohannis: The elections will be on December 6, they are already prepared. The mandate of the parliament cannot be extended by law, it is defined by the constitution. The Constitution provides in certain situations that elections can be held after the end of the mandate, but no later than 3 months. No matter how many bills some parliamentarians put on the table, these things are no longer saturated by the constitution. The parliament can set certain things by law and if the ICR has determined that the parliament can set the date of the elections, of course, just not now that we are in full preparation for the elections.
Observer: Do you think that the high number of infections in recent days is related to the local elections?
Klaus Iohannis: I don’t think so. It is possible that in some localities it has to do with the parties that were held later, illegally. Probably some at these parties forgot that we are not normal, we are in a pandemic. But the elections did not lead to these increases
Radio Romania: What economic recovery measures are required?
Klaus Iohannis: It is very clear that the economy will recover faster if there are more incentives and programs to support the economy. We all agree that these measures must be put into practice
DW: Will we work on the law for the operation of the gendarmerie so that abuses like the one on August 10 stop exist? Will the structure of the SRI be modernized?
Klaus Iohannis: We at CSAT have opted for a new paradigm to defend the country, the old paradigm started from the idea that in the foreseeable future there will be a war in Europe, or this paradigm is no longer relevant. The enemy will probably no longer come with the tank, but with disinformation, not with firearms, but with cyber attacks. All this must be very well prevented, and in the event of a local or regional armed conflict, the forces must be prepared to intervene. It is necessary to modernize all legislation, but this is nothing new. Now, slowly but surely, we are approaching a situation that I consider very good, we have the national strategy, the defense white paper, the money ready, 2% of GDP for a decade, and all the action must be completed with modernization of the related legislation. Even these changes will be made in the law, I hope that the new Parliament will urgently address these issues that are necessary.
Diaspora.ro News: What really is the population of Bucharest?
Klaus Iohannis: I’ll find out exactly and send it to you
TVR: Doctors complain of exhaustion. Does Romania have a sufficient number of intensive care doctors?
Klaus Iohannis: Now the situation is not critical yet, but it is very worrying. We have more than 1,000 ATI seats for covid, about 600 are occupied. In hospitals, in general, there are intensive care settings other than COVID. In total there are about 2,300. For now, there are places for covid and other problems. The distribution is not uniform, in localities with a high incidence of the disease probably all places are occupied. But we must not be complacent in this situation, we spoke with the Prime Minister today and ask him to take urgent measures to add to the number of beds available for intensive care.
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