Coronavirus: Effects of Declaration of State of Emergency

//Coronavirus: Effects of Declaration of State of Emergency

Considering the development of the international epidemiologic situation determined by the spread of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 at the level of over 150 countries, where approximately 197,000 persons have been infected and over 7,900 have died, as well as the declaration of “Pandemic” by the World Health Organization, on March 11, 2020, the President of Romania signed, on March 16, 2020 the “Decree for the Instituting of the State of Emergency in the Entire Territory of Romania” (hereinafter referred to as the “Decree”).

The Decree institutes the state of emergency in the entire territory of Romania for a term of 30 days and the following measures:

✓ Regarding the deeds/certificates issued by the competent authorities
▪ Any documents issued by the public authorities and expiring during the state of emergency shall continue to be valid. ▪ Any economic operators whose activity is affected in the context of COVID-19 may request and obtain certificates of state of emergency based on the justifying documents issued by the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Business Environment. Based on the certificates of state of emergency released by the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Business Environment, the economic operators may invoke the unforeseeable impossibility of performance of ongoing agreements. ▪ During the state of emergency, the applications for registration of entries and appended documents, having incorporated, attached or logically associated the electronic signature shall be sent in extended electronic form to the National Office of Trade Register and to the offices of the trade register attached to tribunals, which solve the applications also by electronic means.

✓ Regarding the health area
▪ Any structures of the medical units may hire without competitions, when they need so, medical contractual personnel, auxiliary personnel, pharmacists, laboratory personnel and other necessary categories of contractual personnel, for a definite period of 6 months. The applicability of the legal acts has been prolonged, with validity until March 31, 2020, regarding the provision of medical services and medicines in the health insurance system, national health programs – be it preventive or curative, during the state of emergency.
▪ The managers of the medical units, public health directorates, health insurance funds, ambulance units, as well as of the central and local public authorities and institutions with powers and duties in the area of social assistance and protection, irrespective of their statute, may be suspended from their management positions for the failure to carry out their job powers and duties during the state of emergency.
▪ The amounts committed for the medical services, medicines, paraclinical investigations granted in the period of the state of emergency shall not be limited to the ones approved for the first quarter of 2020.

✓ Regarding public procurement
▪ Central public authorities and legal entities where the state is a majority shareholder may procure directly the necessary materials and equipment for the fight against the coronavirus epidemic.
▪ Medical units may procure medicines for the treatment of the patients with COVID-19 at prices that may exceed the maximal prices approved by the Ministry of Health.
▪ Public health directorates and medical units may procure by direct procurement procedure the necessary materials and medicines in the pandemic period, from the amounts allotted and transferred to this end by the Ministry of Health.

✓ Regarding employment and social protection relations
▪ Medical leaves granted to the persons in quarantine for COVID-19 shall be disbursed with priority by provision of additional amounts to the FNUASS budget at the necessary level.
▪ During the state of emergency, the employees of the national defense system, of the penitentiaries, the personnel from the public medical units and other categories established by order of the Minister of Internal Affairs, of the Minister of Economy and of the Minister of Transport shall not benefit from the provisions of Law no. 19/2020 on the granting of paid days off to parents for the supervision of children, in the event of temporary closing of the education units. The above-mentioned personnel shall be entitled to a salary increase of 75% of the salary corresponding to a working day, but no more than the correspondent per day of 75% of the gross average salary won used in the substantiation of the state social insurance budget, if the other parent does not benefit from the rights regulated by Law no. 19/2020 on the granting of paid days off to parents for the supervision of children, in the event of temporary closing of education units.
▪ During the state of emergency, where possible, the central and local public institutions and authorities, the autonomous administrative authorities, autonomous administrations, national companies and companies in which the state or an administrative and territorial unit is a sole shareholder or a majority shareholder and private companies shall introduce work from home or telework, by unilateral deed of the employer, without the conclusion to this end of addenda to the individual employment agreements being necessary.
▪ During the state of emergency audits of the Territorial Labor Inspectorates to employers shall be suspended, except for the audits ordered by the Labor Minister, Labor Inspection for the implementation of the resolutions of the National Committee for Special Emergency Situations, for analyzing complaints notifying of deeds with a high degree of social risk and for the investigation of work accidents.
▪ Collective labor agreements and collective agreements shall maintain their validity during the state of emergency.
▪ During the state of emergency any collective work conflicts shall be forbidden in the national power system units, operative units of the nuclear sectors, units operating uninterruptedly, medical units and social assistance units, telecommunications, public radio and television units, railway transport units, units ensuring public transport and sanitation of localities, as well as the supply of the population with gas, electric energy, heating and water.
▪ Any person entitled to insertion incentive shall maintain such right even if this loses the job as a consequence of the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic.
▪ The applications for the granting of benefits and social benefits may be submitted also electronically.
▪ Any certificates for stating the disability degree and type whose validity expires in the period of declared state of emergency shall have their validity prolonged until the end of the state of emergency.

✓ Regarding ongoing agreements
▪ During the entire period of state of emergency, any statutes of limitations and any time limits of any kind of the ongoing agreements shall not run or shall be stayed.
▪ Beneficiaries of European funds may decide together with the management authorities/interim bodies the stay of the ongoing financing agreements.

✓ Regarding pending disputes
▪ During the state of emergency, the courts of law shall judge only the special emergency cases and, when possible, shall order the conducting of the judgment session by videoconference and shall communicate the proceeding deeds by telefax, electronic mail or by other means ensuring the transmission of the text of the deed and the confirmation of its receipt.
▪ Civil trials that are not urgent shall be stayed by operation of law during the instated state of emergency. After the end of the state of emergency, the judgment of the civil trials shall be resumed ex officio, and the court of law shall set hearings and shall summon the parties.
▪ The terms for the exercise of the means of appeal shall be interrupted, and new terms shall run, having the same length, from the date of end of the state of emergency.
▪ Enforcement shall continue only if it is possible to observe the rules of sanitary discipline established by the resolutions of the National Committee for Special Emergency Situations.

✓ Other measures
▪ Measures shall be ordered for ensuring the continuity of proper operation of the national power system and of all public utility services.
▪ The Government of Romania shall amend the budget to ensure urgently the necessary financial resources for the period of state of emergency.
▪ Circulation of vehicles or persons in/to certain areas or between certain hours and the exiting of such areas shall be limited or forbidden gradually.
▪ Road, railway, maritime, river or air circulation on various routes, as well as subway circulation shall be gradually forbidden.
▪ Some restaurants, hotels, cafes, clubs, casinos, offices of associations and of other public establishments shall be closed gradually and temporarily.

2020-03-18T12:48:20+00:00