Interim Vice PM says several ministries are in charge with preventing coronavirus effects

Several ministries are in charge with limiting the impact of the coronavirus "pandemic" and the Government has issued an emergency ordinance to purchase, as a matter of urgency, the necessary equipment during such crisis situations, Interim Vice Prime Minister Raluca Turcan has stated on Tuesday.

"In respect to limiting the impact of the already coronavirus pandemic not just a single ministry is in charge, but several ministries, and the Government has also taken action, including through an emergency ordinance, for the quick purchase, as a matter of urgency, of the necessary equipment during such crisis situations. If you look in the emergency ordinances adopted prior to the dismissal of the Government, you will see that an office has been created to allow the purchase under a rapid procedure of all the necessary equipment and consumables in such crisis situations. Moreover, the thermo-scanner was purchased through this rapid public procurement office, and the procedure ends tomorrow [Wednesday], and also tomorrow the winner of this procurement procedure will be declared, just as the Minister of Transport said," interim Vice PM Turcan told a news conference at the Government.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) doesn't use a procedure to declare a pandemic, however the COVID-19 outbreak remains an urgent situation at international level, a WHO spokesman mentioned on Monday.

"There is no official category (for a pandemic)," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said.

"WHO does not use the old phasing system that some people may be familiar with from 2009. Under the IHR (International Health Regulations), WHO has declared a public health emergency of international concern," he added.

The fear regarding a coronavirus pandemic has been increasing since Monday, after the sudden rise in the number of new cases of infection reported in Iran, Italy and South Korea, although China eased the travel restrictions in several areas, including in Beijing, in the context in which the new infections rates decreased.