Pro Romania puts forth 10 measures to restart Romania

Pro Romania is proposing 10 measures to restart the country, including re-opening the economy on May 4, schools on May 11 or May 18 and sports, cultural activities, restaurants on June 1, and redefining vulnerable categories according to criteria other than age.

"It is unacceptable to take everyone over the age of 65 and lock them up in hotels. We have to put up with gratuitous and inhumane humiliation of our parents and grandparents. Removing them from their families and isolating them is not the way to do it. Vulnerable categories need to be redefined, and age should not be the most relevant criterion. There are 30-40 year olds with chronic illnesses. The decision should be made according to the general health status," Pro Romania national leader Victor Ponta is quoted as saying in a press statement released on Tuesday.

The plan of 10 measures for restarting the country was approved by the Executive Bureau of Pro Romania, which convened on Tuesday in an online meeting.

Pro Romania proposes re-opening the economy on May 4, schools on May 11 or May 18 and sports, cultural activities, restaurants on June 1; observing medical restrictions (mask, gloves, avoiding activities that violate social distancing); keeping restrictions and quarantine only in areas considered hot spots for a maximum of 15 days (with the possibility of further extension in justified cases); implementing by May 11 of a national COVID-19 testing programme that includes 41 county testing centres of a minimum capacity of 500 tests/day/county, and redefining the vulnerable categories from a medical and social point of view.

Pro Romania also proposes flexible working hours for public institutions and private companies, without exceeding a 40-hour work week but differentiated: 08.00hrs to 21:00hrs, Monday through Sunday, as well as the purchase and distribution to the public before May 4 by Unifarm of 100 million masks and gloves at cost price.

Pro Romania also proposes granting loans from the IMM Invest programme until May 15 to SMEs; adopting before May 4 a national programme to support agriculture and the food industry, with exemption from rates and taxes for the entire 2020, loans on publicly subsidised interest rates, state aid for wage income completion.

Parliament should approve before May 15, at the proposal of the government, a national programme for investment in large infrastructure with deadlines for the signing and starting of the works, Pro Romania says.

At the same time, before October 1, an online schooling programme should be started that should include the purchase and distribution of laptops with internet connection and camera to all students.

"This is not the first time that Pro Romania publicly presents concrete solutions. On March 9, the party's leader, Victor Ponta, unveiled a plan of 10 measures to combat the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. In the absence of its own strategy, the government adopted and implemented Pro Romania's unveiled plan," according to the party's press statement.