The government does not want to reinstate any restrictions in the fight against the epidemic, but if necessary, it will take any necessary measures, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said on Wednesday, telling the citizens that "the virus does not forgive anyone, not even those who do not believe in its existence."

He said that in recent months campaigns have been organized to determine the Romanians to not believe in the existence of the virus.

"Since the beginning of the epidemic, the Romanian citizens, the authorities, together, have made unprecedented efforts, endured deprivations and engaged responsibly in ensuring that the epidemic is stopped. It would be a pity for all our efforts if now, when we are again in danger, solidarity, respect for peers, responsibility towards society and towards each of the Romanian citizens do not return into our common behavior. Unfortunately, in recent months we have faced organized campaigns aimed at making Romanians disbelieve the virus, not follow the rules we have established, ignore the danger and we see that, unfortunately, these campaigns have had consequences. The number of those who do not follow the rules has increased," affirmed Orban.

He went on to say that it would be a pity not to take action, when the majority of the society comply with rules and protect themselves, to prevent "those who have fallen into the trap of propaganda that there is no coronavirus" from endangering the entire society, the economic development and jobs.

"The government does not want to reinstate any restrictions. The government does not want to take any measures that would negatively affect the economy, because the Romanian economy, and not only the Romanian economy, but also the economy of European countries, has been severely affected by this epidemic. (...) We do not want to take any measure that will negatively affect the lives of Romanians, on the other hand, I would like to clearly say that, if necessary, we will take any necessary measures, as we put the health and life of Romanians at the forefront," Ludovic Orban mentioned.

The prime minister told the citizens that the virus does not forgive anyone.

"The virus does not forgive anyone, nor does it forgive those who do not believe in the existence of the virus. When you get sick you risk getting your loved ones sick. (...) If you don't care about your health and you don't believe in this virus or you think this virus is not dangerous, please care about your brother, your mother, your father, your child, your friends, your colleagues. Only together, in solidarity and respecting simple rules, established by specialists, (...) only together can we bring things back to normal and fight the epidemic effectively. I am confident that every Romanian will understand this watershed moment and will understand that success in the fight against the epidemic will solely depend on responsible and correct behavior towards our peers," the prime minister added. AGERPRES (RO - author: Alina Novaceanu, editor: George Onea; EN - author: Simona Iacob, editor: Simona Klodnischi)