Latest news: All schools and kindergartens in Romania will be closed starting Wednesday, March 11 until March 22 to prevent coronavirus spread, interim PM Ludovic Orban announced after the meeting of the National Committee for Emergency Situations. The measure can be extended if the situation so requires.

“It’s a precautionary measure. We want to see the evolution of the disease, the number of cases, and our concern is to keep the children away of any risk of contamination that might occur in school,” explained the prime minister, adding that border controls on road and railway transport routes will be tightened.

The rulers have also decided to enforce certain mechanism to limit the spread of the virus, namely “increasing the capacity of diagnosis, increasing the number of doctors, epidemiological inquiries, the situation of stocks of medical equipment”.

“I call for calm, for a rational behaviour and individual responsibility“, Orban concluded.

Earlier in the day, information pointed that authorities were discussing the version of closing down all schools and kindergartens in Romania starting March 19 until after Easter, on April 21 to prevent the coronavirus spreading. Interim PM Ludovic Orban has yet said the measure is hard to take, considering the long period of time, but it is under scrutiny.

The final decision is to be taken by the Health Minister Victor Costache, the Head of the Emergency Situations Department, Raed Arafat and interim PM Ludovic Orban within the National Committee for Special Emergency Situations convened this afternoon.

Sources told mass media that the Health minister and Raed Arafat tend to favor a decision to close down all education units countrywide.

PM Orban said that closing down schools and kindergartens is envisaged, but it is a decision that needs to be prepared seriously.

Asked about this possibility, Orban said after the PNL sitting: ” Such a measure to close down schools is disturbing the educational activity and is depriving pupils of the educational service. It is a measure that has to be prepared. Ask yourselves what these children will do if they stay at home. Is there a member in each family who can watch them if they are out of school? Do they have all grandparents? So, these measures must be taken only after a serious analysis. We have only 15 cases of coronavirus, with 5 of them already cured”.

Meanwhile, three universities have suspended courses, two in Bucharest (the medical training courses at the University of Medicine and SNSPA) and another one in Iasi.

At the same time, Education minister Monica Anisie announced that all county olympiads scheduled this month will be suspended.

The Polytechnic University in Bucharest is not closing for the time being, but the leadership of the university decided that all professors to post their courses online.