President Klaus Iohannis has announced on Saturday night that he is declaring state of emergency as of Monday, March 16, due to the novel Coronavirus epidemic.

This state of emergency will allow the allotment of more funds for necessary medicines and medical equipment, under simplified procedures. 109 people have been confirmed with COVID-19 so far in Romania.

Among the states that have already declared state of emergency due to the Coronavirus pandemic there are U.S., Italy, Bulgaria and Spain.

“It is very important that measures to be taken in due time, so, to make possible this fight I decided to declare state of emergency early next week. This state of emergency will make possible the allotment of new resources, of more money for the necessary medicines and medical equipment, under simplified procedures.

Dear Romanian, the authorities are doing their job, the government had done its job as so far, but we also need you, dear Romanians. We need you to respect the guidelines and the hygiene rules and yes, we need you to avoid unnecessary contacts and to get the correct information from public sources, directly from authorities. Only together we’ll get over this test. I wish you good health!”, said the head of state.

The state of emergency is stipulated by article 93 of the Romanian Constitution, but also by the emergency ordinance no 1/1999.

Under a state of emergency, authorities might also limit or ban the movement of persons or vehicles in certain areas, or to temporary close some gas stations, some restaurants, cafes, clubs, casinos, headquarters of some public institutions and associations, and to order food rationing or to forbid road, railway, naval, river or air traffic on certain routes.