President Klaus Iohannis stated on Thursday that some politicians are more interested in votes than in the health of Romanians, when they claim that specialists need to come with proof regarding the necessity of prolonging the state of alert.

"There are some politicians who, probably, are more interested in votes than in the health of Romanians, who say that we can speak of full relaxation and that there is no need for these measures and that specialists should come with proof. What proof do they expect, other than those communicated daily? 237 new [coronavirus] infections from yesterday to today, over 150 people in intensive care now, as we speak. We have again, unfortunately, more and more new deaths. The epidemic is amongst us. The virus is in the community. Any normal reasoning would tell us to be cautious. In front of disease you're either cautious or stupid, one of the two," said Iohannis.

The head of state appealed for taking measures that would allow authorities to act in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It was noted everywhere that when the relaxation measures start entering into force, the number of persons increases a bit, that is why I repeat my appeal to protection, carefulness and taking measures that allow us to act," said Klaus Iohannis.

Earlier, he stated that it's necessary for the state of alert to be prolonged, emphasizing that there are practical reasons for this.

Thursday afternoon, President Klaus Iohannis laid wreaths at the Monument dedicated to the Mineriad of June 13-15, 1990 and the "Zero kilometer of democracy" monument, on the occasion of marking 30 years since the "University Square Phenomenon" and the 1990 Mineriad.AGERPRES(RO - author: Florentina Peia, editor: Andreea Rotaru; EN - author: Razvan-Adrian Pandea, editor: Maria Voican)