Virny giving his speech in Darmosari today (23-3-2020)
The response of Apollo Cerwyn’s government to the incipient health crisis affecting neighboring countries in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic was harshly criticized by the Leader of the Opposition, Shounn Virny, in a short speech today in Darmosari. According to Virny, the government is “failing its human citizens”.
The Government released a short statement on March 16, in which it claimed it “didn’t care” (sic) as plush toys can’t get sick from viral infections.
Official Sabioveronese Government statement on the Coronavirus situation: “We personally don’t care. Plush toys don’t get sick. We do, however, encourage all human residents to follow the WHO recommendations on prevention and isolation. Take care!”
— Sabia and Verona (@SabiaAndVerona) March 17, 2020
In his address, Virny pointed out that not all Sabioveronese citizens are plush toys, and that the human minority living in Sabioveronese territories and beyond was being “left to their own devices” by a “neglectful government”.
The Government’s response was swift. The Secretary of Welfare, Hierba Kebragi, was quick to point out that Virny was “making a mockery of himself” by wearing a face mask when he part of the majority of the Sabioveronese population that is immune to the virus, and stated that Sabioveronese humans were following the WHO recommendations to avoid contagion, as the government had urged them to do.
Sabia and Verona’s neighboring countries, Argentina and Venezuela, have taken drastic measures to avoid the further spread of the virus, despite having a relatively low reported number of cases. Argentina has issued a nationwide lockdown until March 31.
The spat between the government and the opposition is the latest of disagreements between the two parties in the Kingdom ahead of the general election, to be held on May 17. The Electoral Commission has already confirmed the ongoing Coronavirus crisis will not alter the electoral calendar established early in January.
In February, Virny launched a damning attack on the incumbent administration, calling Cerwyn “passive and inept” at the lack of progress regarding the integration of the Doga Runann territory into the Sabioveronese administrative framework. Days later, Cerwyn and Deputy PM Snø Jens-Galieri visited the nature reserve in an “Official State Picnic”.
The SiV Phonograph 
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As the representative of a plush nation, I have to admit the Democrats are right. Plush toys don’t get sick. But the pandemic can affect us in other ways (Plushunia’s economy is now close to a major crisis due to the decrease in the imports that keep it alive), so maybe Virny does have a point (he just didn’t make it clear)
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