PM Orban asks MPs to decide on state of alert extension based on objective analyses, not political interests

Prime minister Ludovic Orban on Wednesday said in Braila (northeast of Bucharest) that he is asking the MPs to decide on the extension of the state of alert based on objective analyses, and not on momentarily political interests, stressing that this is not a topic to be politicised.

"It's not a topic that should be politicized. I have avoided politicising it and I call on those in Parliament to decide on the basis of objective criteria and analyses, not on the basis of political or electoral interests of the moment. (...) It's not our political fad to prolong the alert. Politically, I can tell you it's not an advantage. On the other hand, we are rational people, we are people who take into account the public interest and, in order to ensure the health and life of Romanians, it is fundamental to maintain the state of alert. We will use all the constitutional and legal levers we have to preserve the health of Romanians, no matter what some parties in Parliament do," Orban said.

The Prime minister made it clear that "putting an end to the state of alert means, in fact, endangering the health of Romanian citizens", because, without having the necessary levers to comply with the law, "basically, we will no longer be able to brake the spread of the virus in the community".

"Furthermore, we will have no leverage to intervene in outbreaks, where non-compliance with the rules leads to a greater number of people getting ill. In certain companies, elders' homes, villages or neighborhoods it will be impossible to be able to order quarantine or protection measures. Total relaxation at the moment will lead to an increase in the number of infected people. We can't estimate what this increase will be. Any increase in the number of infections raises the number of people at risk of death. We also endanger people's lives if we give up the measures that are related to the state of alert. Any kind of increase in the number of people who are at risk of infection or will actually become infected can lead to other measures of restriction, it can lead to disturbances of other activities, which we gradually, with some protective measures, are relaxing," Orban stressed.

Ludovic Orban added that "there is still a spread of the virus in the community" and that "interactions among people have increased exponentially as a result of relaxation measures".