Radio România Internațional

Tag: Arafat

Unexpected seismic activity

Two earthquakes
rocked for two consecutive days the south-western regions of Romania. The first
with a magnitude of 5.2 on the Richter scale took place on Monday and had 16
aftershocks. The second one, more powerful with a 5.7 magnitude took place at a
depth of 7 kilometers and was also felt in other regions of Romania, including
in Bucharest. These two earthquakes came at a time when the death toll of those
that hit Turkey and Syria last week is on the rise. Romania’s main seismic area
is Vrancea in south-east, so the latest earthquakes in the country’s south-west
came as a surprise mainly to those studying the phenomenon. Here is the
director of the Institute for Earth Physics, Constantin Ionescu.

Constantin Ionescu:The area has rarely seen any earthquakes and
those that happened there before were of low magnitudes, of 3, 2, 1 degrees.
And it came as a surprise to us the fact that the area became active again. A
couple of earthquakes was reported in that area in the past but never with
magnitudes over 4 degrees. From the geological point of view, the tectonic
plates moved vertically. Both of them shared the same mechanism, it was a
tandem, so to say. And the second one wasn’t an aftershock.

There were no
victims but the first quake caused panic, which was probably fuelled by the
recent Turkish-Syrian tragedy. The two earthquakes had effects in three
counties in the country’s southwest though.

Here is now Raed
Arafat, the head of Romania’s Department for Emergency Situations.

Raed Arafat: The
effects of these two earthquakes have been felt in six towns and villages in
three counties, Gorj, Dolj and Mehedinţi. Fifty emergency calls have been
registered but people mainly called in about their cracked walls or to report some elements of masonry that had collapsed.
Initially there were rumors about a destroyed building, which eventually proved
false. Several panic attacks have also been reported by means of the 112
emergency number.

More serious issues
appeared in the Gorj county on the national road crossing the Jiu Gorges, which
was blocked by fallen boulders and the intervention of road workers was needed.
In Târgu Jiu, capital of the Gorj county, the tremors caused damage to the
buildings of the City Hall and the Prefect’s Office. They also caused
disruptions in the electricity and gas supplies, which resumed shortly.

State secretary
Arafat has drawn attention to the fact that panic can lead to a series of
mistakes during an earthquake and can even prove deadly. According to him
people must train to get a better reaction in situations like these. An
application, which can be accessed at the portal of the Emergency Situations
Department, comprises a series of recommendations on how to behave before,
during and after an earthquake.

(bill)

15 February 2023
European solidarity against wildfires

Presently affected by a severe heatwave and prolonged drought, France is fighting extensive forest fires in the southwestern region of Gironde. Fires this time spread faster than in July, when the entire region was devastated and thousands of people had to be evacuated.

Firefighters from many countries have joined their French counterparts in the latters efforts to contain the wildfires in the region. Their gesture has been described by President Emmanuel Macron as an example of European solidarity. Italy, Greece and Sweden are among the countries which sent firefighting aircraft while 77 firefighters from Romania are working shoulder to shoulder with their French counterparts in an attempt to contain wildfires in the region.

In response to a request made by the French government, authorities in Bucharest have also decided to dispatch equipment to the affected areas in France through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. According to the Head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, it is for the first time Romania is doing such an ample air rescue operation:

Raed Arafat: “From our point of view this is a first as we are flying technical equipment and big fire engines to a foreign country; some of these engines have a capacity of 4 thousand liters. Military planes have been made available to us and we are using them under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. We proposed this mission, it got the greenlight, and now our intervention teams are ready and able to help their French colleagues because they are not tired after traveling thousands of kilometers by road.”

“Romania is solidary with France, our partner and traditional friend, which is these days fighting massive wildfires. Just like in the case of Greece, when Romania had a main contribution to putting out fires there, we can prove our capability of being a reliable partner for the allies” Romanias Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said in a message.

Only several days ago, Romanian firefighters completed their mission in Greece, where they responded to a request by the Greek authorities through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. 56 Romanian firefighters put out fires around capital Athens in two consecutive rounds before being subsequently replaced by colleagues from other European countries contributing to the operation.

Since the beginning of this summer season, Greece has been affected by hundreds of wildfires against the backdrop of the extremely hot weather with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. Rescue operations this year have been marked by a helicopter crash close to the island of Samos, where two people lost their lives.

(bill)

12 August 2022
European solidarity against wildfires

Presently affected by a severe heatwave and prolonged drought, France is fighting extensive forest fires in the southwestern region of Gironde. Fires this time spread faster than in July, when the entire region was devastated and thousands of people had to be evacuated.

Firefighters from many countries have joined their French counterparts in the latters efforts to contain the wildfires in the region. Their gesture has been described by President Emmanuel Macron as an example of European solidarity. Italy, Greece and Sweden are among the countries which sent firefighting aircraft while 77 firefighters from Romania are working shoulder to shoulder with their French counterparts in an attempt to contain wildfires in the region.

In response to a request made by the French government, authorities in Bucharest have also decided to dispatch equipment to the affected areas in France through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. According to the Head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, it is for the first time Romania is doing such an ample air rescue operation:

Raed Arafat: “From our point of view this is a first as we are flying technical equipment and big fire engines to a foreign country; some of these engines have a capacity of 4 thousand liters. Military planes have been made available to us and we are using them under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. We proposed this mission, it got the greenlight, and now our intervention teams are ready and able to help their French colleagues because they are not tired after traveling thousands of kilometers by road.”

“Romania is solidary with France, our partner and traditional friend, which is these days fighting massive wildfires. Just like in the case of Greece, when Romania had a main contribution to putting out fires there, we can prove our capability of being a reliable partner for the allies” Romanias Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said in a message.

Only several days ago, Romanian firefighters completed their mission in Greece, where they responded to a request by the Greek authorities through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. 56 Romanian firefighters put out fires around capital Athens in two consecutive rounds before being subsequently replaced by colleagues from other European countries contributing to the operation.

Since the beginning of this summer season, Greece has been affected by hundreds of wildfires against the backdrop of the extremely hot weather with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. Rescue operations this year have been marked by a helicopter crash close to the island of Samos, where two people lost their lives.

(bill)

12 August 2022
November 6, 2021 UPDATE

SPORT
Romanian swimmer David
Popovici won gold in the 200 meter freestyle race of the European Short Course
Swimming Championships underway in Kazan, Russia. This has been the third medal
for Romania after silver and bronze won by Robert Glinta in the 100 meter and
50 meter backstroke race. In another development, Romanian tennis player Horia
Tecau and his German partner Kevin Krawietz have qualified for Nitto ATP Finals
in Turin over November 14th and 21st a competition, which
is the year-end climax to the ATP Tour season
and features only the world’s best eight qualified singles players and doubles
teams. Tecau and Krawietz, who are presently ranking 7th in the ATP
Doubles Race, have booked tickets for Turin after the results they obtained at
Paris Masters. The tournament in Turin would be Tecau’s seventh participation
in the Nitto ATP Finals.

COVID-19 Authorities in Romania on Saturday announced over 8
thousand new Covid -19 infections. 490 new fatalities have also been reported
bringing the death toll since the beginning of the pandemic to 50 thousand. Romania
continues to get international assistance in its efforts to keep the pandemic
at bay. Another four patients in severe conditions are to be transported for
treatment to hospitals in the Czech Republic and Denmark and a medical team of
experts is to arrive in Romania from Israel to help the local physicians in
their efforts to fight the pandemic. The head of Romania’s Department for
Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, says that although the number of infections
is on a downward trend, hospitals will remain overcrowded for another couple of
weeks and the number of fatalities remains higher. Arafat has also said that
vaccination remains the main form of protection. After being on an upward trend
for a couple of weeks, the country’s vaccine rollout has slowed down of late.
Since Romania’s vaccine rollout kicked off in late December last year, the
number of Romanians fully vaccinated has reached nearly 6.5 million. The man in
charge of the country’s vaccine rollout, physician Valeriu Gheorghita, urged
people to not let themselves be fooled by individuals who came out of nowhere and
are spreading fake news underlining the most effective way in the fight against
the pandemic remains vaccination. Gheorghita participated in an online Q&A
marathon together with other doctors and experts.

SCHOOL Roughly 1,800,000 students and preschoolers are to commence
courses on Monday, less than two thirds out of the total number, after a
two-week holidays. The rest are to resume online courses, under a joint
decision by the Ministries of Education and Health in Romania, which provides
that students can resume courses in person only in those schools with at least
60% of their teaching staff vaccinated. The Students Council believes the
measure is not enough for the safe resumption of physical schooling though and
has called on the medical authorities to develop an algorithm upon which
schools may decide the format of courses they provide considering other factors
besides the staff vaccination, like the local infection rate, test capabilities
in certain regions and the conditions for keeping social distancing and
implementing prevention measures. Education Minister Sorin Campeanu has
announced the purchase and the future distribution to schools of 9 million
tests. 30% of the students over 12 have so far been vaccinated.

TALKS Romania’s Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu is going to have a
round of talks with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington on
Monday during the visit he is paying to the USA over November 8th
and 9th upon the invitation of his US counterpart. The visit marks
the official opening of the 7th meeting part of the US-Romania
strategic dialogue for the 21st century. The Talks between the two
officials are to be focusing on identifying concrete ways of developing and
deepening bilateral cooperation in several fields such as politics, security,
military, energy and economic cooperation.

(bill)

6 November 2021
New restrictions against COVID-19 in Romania

New restrictions to limit the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections have been decided in Bucharest and have already come into force. The measures come amid the worst epidemiological situation that Romania has faced since the onset of the pandemic: hundreds of deaths associated with the novel coronavirus daily, more than 20,000 hospitalized patients, an overwhelmed intensive care system and exhausted medical staff. To reduce the pressure on the medical system, the authorities have made the green certificate mandatory throughout the country for most activities. Access to public institutions, restaurants, theaters or cinema halls will be made only on the basis of this document. People can obtain the green certificate if they prove that they are vaccinated, have recovered from the disease or have been tested. Those who choose to go to shopping malls need to be either vaccinated or to have recovered from the disease.

In the next 30 days, people will have normal access in pharmacies, grocery stores, including supermarkets, on condition they observe the required distance and the sanitary norms. Private events, such as weddings or baptisms, are banned and wearing protective masks has become mandatory everywhere, said the Secretary of State Raed Arafat.

Raed Arafat: “For the unvaccinated people, certain locations will be difficult to access or simply inaccessible. I mean, going inside a restaurant during this period will be practically impossible. To enter a public institution, you need to be tested, if you are not vaccinated and have not already had the disease.”

Another measure is the night curfew, people’s leaving their homes being restricted between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., expect for those who have been vaccinated or have had the disease, for emergencies or for those who go to work. Also, employers of public or private institutions where at least 50 people work simultaneously must rethink their work schedule, to have as little interaction as possible. At the same time, in an attempt to limit the number of coronavirus infections, preschoolers and the pupils of primary, secondary and high schools in the state education system, in a first phase, went on an unplanned two-week holiday as of Monday. Afterschool units will not be able to operate either, but nurseries will remain open. At the same time, the sports activities will take place without an audience.

Dissatisfied with the new restrictions, several people protested on Sunday evening in downtown Bucharest. The protesters carried banners and three-color flags, marched to the Health Ministry headquarters and then to the government headquarters. Meanwhile, against the background of the population’s growing interest in vaccination of late, but also of the vaccination marathons organized this weekend in Bucharest, Romania has managed to vaccinate 40% of the population over 18 against Covid, doctor Valeriu Gheorghiță, the coordinator of the national vaccination campaign announced. (LS)

25 October 2021
L’état d’alerte prolongé à nouveau

Tout comme dans le cas de la majorité des États européens, la pandémie de Covid 19 connaît en Roumanie une évolution à la baisse. Presque tous les départements roumains sont en zone verte, avec un taux des cas de coronavirus inférieur à 1,5 par mille habitants durant les 2 dernières semaines. Le nombre des nouveaux cas de contamination et des malades est toujours à la baisse et la campagne de vaccination va bon train, affirment les autorités. Et même dans ces conditions, Florin Cîtu, a annoncé qu’à partir de jeudi l’état d’alerte serait prolongé d’un mois supplémentaire, afin de pouvoir contrôler l’évolution de la pandémie.

Toutefois certaines mesures restrictives qui n’ont plus d’objet seront éliminées. Pour ce qui est de la possibilité de renoncer au port du masque sanitaire dans les espaces ouverts ou d’alléger les restrictions dans le cas des personnes vaccinées, le chef de l’exécutif a précisé qu’il prendra en compte aussi les recommandations des spécialistes. Florin Cîţu: « Il y a toute une série de mesures qui n’ont plus de sens. Par exemple, dans les stations de montagne, nous allons éliminer les restrictions imposées au skieurs. Elles avaient été introduites il y a deux mois et n’existeront plus, puisqu’elles n’ont plus de sens. Nous allons consulter aussi les spécialistes et en fonction de leurs recommandations, nous allons produire une réponse. J’ai dit qu’à mon sens, les personnes vaccinées ne constituaient plus un risque dans la société et devraient bénéficier d’une vie normale ». a précisé Florin Cîtu.

Le secrétaire d’Etat Raed Arafat a déclaré qu’il fallait respecter toujours les mesures de protection sanitaire et a annoncé de nouvelles mesures de relâchement des restrictions imposées jusqu’ici. Selon lui, les autorités ont décidé de permettre les processions et les pèlerinages religieux vafin de permettre jeudi la circulation des personnes durant la nuit à l’occasion de la fête musulmane du Ramadan. Ce qui plus est, des événements sportifs et culturels test seront également permis. Il s’agit de la possibilité d’organiser des événements avec un public supérieur à la limite de 50% de la capacité des espaces disponibles. Les participants seront des personnes qui soit ont reçu le vaccin contre la Covid 19, soit présentent un test négatif de dépistage ou bien ont eu la maladie au cours des trois derniers mois. Raed Arafat : « La participation sera permise uniquement dans le cas personnes vaccinées ou qui se situent dans l’intervalle entre le 15e et le 90e jour ultérieur à la confirmation de l’infection au SARS – CoV – 2 ou des personnes qui présentent le résultat d’un test négatif RT – PCR réalisé 72 heures avant l’événement. A la demande du Ministère de la Santé, nous avons ajouté aussi un test antigénique vieux de 24 heures tout au plus à condition que ce résultat soit certifié. »

Pour ce qui est du secteur de l’HoReCa, Raed Arafat a déclaré qu’une éventuelle ouverture des restaurants à pleine capacité impliquerait l’adoption de certaines conditions d’accès. Une décision finale à ce sujet devrait être adoptée avant le 1er juin. A présent dans les régions où le taux d’incidence est inférieur à 1,5 cas d’infection par mille habitants, les restaurants sont tenus de respecter un taux d’occupation de 50% de la capacité maximale si l’accès n’est pas conditionné. L’interdiction de dérouler des réunions à l’occasion des fêtes, des anniversaires, des événements publics et privés dans des espaces clos ou ouverts reste en place.

11 May 2021
New restrictions to keep pandemic at bay

Against the increasing number of Sars-CoV-2
infections, the government in Bucharest on Thursday night endorsed and
announced fresh restrictions in an attempt to limit the spread of the novel
coronavirus. So, the regions with an infection rate over 4 cases per thousand,
will be imposed a night curfew over the weekend starting at 20 hours, not at 22
as on weekdays. Shops are to close their doors at 18 hours during the weekend
as well. The measures are to become valid for the entire week if the rate of
infection exceeds 7.5 per thousand.

Gyms in the areas with an infection rate over 4 per
thousand are to suspend their activity. They can resume functioning when this
rate goes below 3.5 per thousand. Some restrictions have been relaxed though
for the upcoming religious holidays observed by some religious denominations.
Here is state secretary Raed Arafat with more on the issue.

Raed Arafat: On the night
between March 27th and 28th, on Saturday and Sunday, the
curfew will start at 22 hours allowing people to attend the religious services
of Pesach. On the night between April 3rd and 4th, people
will be allowed to travel outside their households between 20 hours and 2 hours
in the night to be able to attend the religious services of the Catholic
Easter.

Authorities are yet to announce the relaxation
measures for the Orthodox Easter due over May 1st and 2nd.
On the other hand, as part of the same
measures of preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus, Romania’s Health
Minister Vlad Voiculescu, has announced the setting up of a legal framework for
the rapid antigen tests in pharmacies across the country. The move comes amid
justified criticism over the small daily number of tests carried out in the
public system.

According to Minister Voiculescu the aforementioned
tests will be made available at affordable prices and the patients who tested
positive are to be included in a special platform and monitored by family
physicians just like those revealed by the PCR tests. In case symptoms worsened
they would be made available a special action guide.

At the same time physicians specialized in
non-infectious diseases will be allowed to treat patients infected with
Covid-19. Minister Voiculescu has explained that if these physicians are
complying with the practice protocols approved by the Health Ministry, they
will not be held accountable for any possible prejudices on the job. Talks are
also underway for the treatment of those infected in hospitals which aren’t
specialized in the treatment of infectious diseases, provided their
infrastructure allows it, doing away with the notion of Covid and non-Covid
hospitals.

(bill)

26 March 2021
December 11, 2020 UPDATE

TENNIS Romanian tennis player Sorana Cirstea, WTA
86th, on Friday qualified for the finals of the ITF tournament in
Dubai, with total prizes of 100 thousand dollars after a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 win
against second-seeded Polona Hercog of Slovenia. On Saturday Cirstea will be
playing Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the finals. If she wins,
the Romanian will climb up to the 71st position in the WTA ranking.

BREXIT In less than three weeks, Britain could
leave the European Union without a trade agreement, British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen
said on Friday. According to Reuters, the European Union and Britain are at
loggerheads over fishing rights, economic fair play and dispute settlement in
spite of months of talks to cover trade from January 1st, when the
UK finally exits the bloc.

COVID-19
In its session on Friday the
Government decided to extend the state of alert by another 30 days starting
December 14. State Secretary Raed Arafat said all restrictions remain in place,
including the nighttime curfew. One new measure will be introduced, regarding
cable transport operators in ski resorts. Cable transport facilities will
remain open, although the Government intends to avoid overcrowding in order to
limit the spread of the virus. Therefore aerial trams with 20 seats will only
carry 10 people. Raed Arafat called on Romanians to limit their visits, avoid
going caroling or to New Year’s Eve parties during the winter holidays. 545
thousand Romanians got infected with COVID-19 since the start of the outbreak,
of whom 80% have recovered. So far over 13,100 people have died to the virus.
6,460 new infections were reported on Friday, most case being signaled in
Bucharest. Some 1,300 patients are in intensive care.

TALKS President Klaus Iohannis on Monday invited
political parties to consultations with a view to designating the new Prime
Minister. Taking part in consultations will be the Social-Democratic Party, the
National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union – PLUS Alliance, the Alliance
for the Union of Romanians and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians. The
Social-Democrats have nominated Prof. Alexandru Rafila, Romania’s
representative at the WHO, whom they want to lead either a Social-Democratic
Cabinet, or a technocratic government. The Liberals, in turn, have nominated
Florin Cîţu, the current Finance Minister and say they will hold official talks
with a view to forming a majority in Parliament with the Save Romania Union -
PLUS Alliance and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians starting Saturday.

(bill)

11 December 2020
October 4, 2020 UPDATE

MAE Romania’s Foreign Ministry fully
supports the EU decisions regarding the situation in Belarus, reads a post on
the Institution’s Twitter page. According to the Ministry, the pressure put by
the authorities in Minsk on some EU members like Poland and Lithuania to
withdraw their ambassadors does not help to settle the present crisis, neither
will it affect solidarity among EU countries. Belarus has recalled its ambassadors
from Poland and Lithuania and has called on both countries to substantially
reduce their embassy personnel in Minsk. Brussels has officially adopted sanctions
against 40 people in Belarus for ‘brutal reprisals against peaceful protesters’
and election rigging. The list, which provides for asset freezing and travel
interdictions in the member states, does not include president Alexander
Lukashenko. Meanwhile, police in Belarus have announced they have operated
arrests and used water cannons against tens of thousands protesters who took to
the streets of Minsk on Sunday denounced the rigged election in August.

PANDEMIC Over 35 million people have been confirmed infected with the
novel coronavirus worldwide and the death toll stands at more than one million
people, according to worldometers.
The US continues to be the most affected with 7.6 million infections and a
death toll over 214 thousand. The novel coronavirus has killed more than 100
thousand people in India, which has reported over 6.5 million infections.
Brazil has a death toll of 146 thousand and 5 million infections. Europe has
also been affected; Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic have reported a
growing number of infections, which is also on the rise in Italy, where
authorities are considering an extended state of emergency until February next
year.

COVID-19 1,835 people have tested
positive for the novel coronavirus in Romania on Sunday; the local authorities
have also announced 56 fatalities. 598 patients are in intensive care units
while the death toll since the beginning of the pandemic stands at 5,003.
Romania has so far reported a total number of 135,900 infections. In spite of
the growing number of infections, the authorities believe they don’t need to
impose another state of emergency. They insist on prevention though by
observing the safety measures already known such as social distancing,
disinfection and the wearing of masks in public places. According to Raed
Arafat, head of the Department for Emergency Situations, tougher restriction
measures could be imposed in certain areas, if the situation worsened.

ELECTION An election campaign has
kicked off in the Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova for the presidential
election on November 1st against a recrudescence of the Covid-19
epidemic. 8 candidates are vying for the presidential seat but only two stand
chances, the incumbent president, the pro-Russia Socialist Igor Dodon and the
leader of the Action and Solidarity Party and former Prime Minister Maia Sandu,
who is seen as pro-Europe. Dodon won the 2016 election by getting a little over
52% of the votes and experts believe the two candidates are going to be neck
and neck in the upcoming election.

RECOUNT The Election Bureau of the city
of Bucharest (BEM) on Sunday turned down a request for an election recount in
the city’s District 1. The BEM has deemed the ruling PSD’s decision to contest
the allegedly rigged local election on September 27th as ungrounded.
Agerpres news agency recalls the Social Democrats called for an election
recount after a TV channel had aired footage with people entering a room where ballot
bags were deposited. Police and the prosecutor’s office have launched
investigations in two files. The aforementioned institution on Sunday rejected
a similar request for the city’s District 5, coming from several political
parties.

(bill)

4 October 2020
October 4, 2020

PANDEMIC Over 35 million people have been confirmed infected with the
novel coronavirus worldwide and the death toll stands at more than one million
people, according to worldometers.
The US continues to be the most affected with 7.6 million infections and a
death toll over 214 thousand. The novel coronavirus has killed more than 100
thousand people in India, which has reported over 6.5 million infections.
Brazil has a death toll of 146 thousand and 5 million infections. Europe has
also been affected; Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic have reported a
growing number of infections, which is also on the rise in Italy, where
authorities are considering an extended state of emergency until February next
year.

COVID-19 1,835 people have tested positive
for the novel coronavirus in Romania on Sunday; the local authorities have also
announced 56 fatalities. 598 patients are in intensive care units while the
death toll since the beginning of the pandemic stands at 5,003. Romania has so
far reported a total number of 135,900 infections. In spite of the growing
number of infections, the authorities believe they don’t need to impose another
state of emergency. They insist on prevention though by observing the safety
measures already known such as social distancing, disinfection and the wearing
of masks in public places. According to Raed Arafat, head of the Department for
Emergency Situations, tougher restriction measures could be imposed in certain
areas, if the situation worsened.

ELECTION An election campaign has
kicked off in the Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova for the presidential
election on November 1st against a recrudescence of the Covid-19
epidemic. 8 candidates are vying for the presidential seat but only two stand
chances, the incumbent president, the pro-Russia Socialist Igor Dodon and the
leader of the Action and Solidarity Party and former Prime Minister Maia Sandu,
who is seen as pro-Europe. Dodon won the 2016 election by getting a little over
52% of the votes and experts believe the two candidates are going to be neck and
neck in the upcoming election.

TENNIS The odds-on favourite of the Roland Garros tennis tournament, Romanian
Simona Halep was outperformed today by Iga Swiatek of Poland in the
competition’s round of 16. The two also played against each other in the same
competition a year ago, and the game went to Simona in 45 minutes. Simona came after
a two-set win against US challenger Amanda Anisimova, 6-0, 6-1. Another two
Romanian players were eliminated in the third round on Saturday when Irina Bara
lost to Sofia Kenin of the USA 6-2, 6-0 and Patricia Tig to Fiona Ferro of
France, 7-6, 4-6, 6-0.

DEFENCE Romanian president Klaus
Iohannis has summoned the Higher Defence Council (CSAT) on October 6th
for talks over the country’s defence and national security. No details on the
talks agenda have been made available. The latest CSAT session was held in late
May when the country’s national defence strategy was discussed.

(bill)

4 October 2020
May 28, 2020

ASCENSION Orthodox believers who are a majority in Romania and
Greek Catholics are today celebrating the Ascension of Christ from the Mount of
Olives in Jerusalem, 40 days after his resurrection. Since 1920, the Ascension has
also been celebrated as the Heroes’ Day. Religious and military services have
been held today in front of churches and monuments dedicated to Romania’s
heroes. In his address on this occasion Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis
said, quote: This special day in which we celebrate both our heroes and the
Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ has a special meaning for the Romanian
people. On this occasion we pay homage to the martyrs of the Romanian people
who made the supreme sacrifice for our existence. Iohannis has voiced
gratitude for the Romanian soldiers who died in the line of duty in various
operation theatres in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Western Balkans.

TALKS Romania’s Prime Minister Ludovic
Orban on Thursday talked over the phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The two high officials have mentioned the special strategic relations between
Romania and Germany and have agreed to carry on efforts to deepen these
relations. Also high on the talks agenda was the situation of the Romanian
temporary workers in Germany. The chancellor has voiced the consistent concern
of the officials in Berlin regarding the observation and protection of the
rights of the Romanian workers and has underlined the readiness for maintaining
a tight contact at all levels between the authorities of the two countries
following the latest visit paid to Germany by the Romanian Minister of Labour
and Social protection, Violeta Alexandru. The federal government has recently
initiated amendments to the domestic legislative framework in order to offer an
increased degree of protection for the rights of the Romanian employees.

PANDEMIC According to the John Hopkins
University the new coronavirus has infected 5.7 million of people worldwide and
the number of fatalities has exceeded 355 thousand. The situation has worsened in
Brazil, where the number of infections exceeds 410 thousand and there are 25
thousand fatalities. Brazil has thus become the world’s second most affected
country after the United States, which has 1.7 million people infected and 100
thousand fatalities. In Italy, the third most affected country in Europe, with
over 33 thousand fatalities, authorities have started to take fresh measures to
prevent a possible second wave of infections after they learnt that part of the
population does not comply with the social distancing measures. French Prime
Minister Edouard Phillipe is expected to present today the situation of the
pandemic and the measures taken by the government for the second stage of
relaxation due to begin on June 2nd. Spain is seeing the longest
period of national mourning in the country’s history to the memory of the 27
thousand people killed by the pandemic.

COVID 19 Another 197 Covid infections have been registered in Romania,
which has reported a total number of 18,791 infected persons, the authorities
announced on Thursday. 12,629 of those infected have been cured and left
hospitals, while 182 patients are in intensive care. Romania has so far
reported 1,229 fatalities. The Romanian president Klaus Iohannis has summoned a
new session of talks over the measures to handle the pandemic in Romania. The
talks are attended by the country’s Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, Interior
Minister Marcel Vela, the Health Minister Nelu Tataru, the Minister of the Economy
Virgil Popescu, Defence Minister Nicolae Ciuca and the head of the Department
for Emergency Situations Raed Arafat. The authorities are expected to announce
fresh relaxation measures starting June 1st.

REPATRIATIONS The Foreign Ministry in Bucharest has today announced that
64 Romanian nationals have been repatriated from France through the combined
efforts of several Romanian institutions. Among those repatriated are students
and their families who were unable to extend their stay in France. According to
the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest these repatriations are part of a measure
campaign taken by the Romanian authorities to facilitate the return to Romania
of the Romanian citizens abroad who were affected by the air travel restrictions
imposed by the efforts to contain the COVID pandemic.

(translated by bill)

28 May 2020
Wie sieht die geplante Lockdown-Lockerung aus?

Mitte Mai läuft der Notstand aus, der in Rumänien am 16. März aufgrund der COVID-19 Epidemie ausgerufen wurde. Damit verbunden waren in den letzten Wochen belastende Beschränkungen der Freizügigkeit und anderer Freiheitsrechte. Schon letzte Woche hatten die Behörden gewarnt, dass eine Aufhebung der Verbote nicht bedeutet, dass die Gesellschaft zum Leben von vor der Krise zurückfindet. Raed Arafat, der die Notfalldienste aus dem Innenministerium koordiniert, hat am Sonntag näher beschrieben, was man sich unter der neuen Normalität wohl vorzustellen hat. Die wohl sichtbarste Umstellung sei die Maskenpflicht, sagte der Staatssekretär Raed Arafat: Track: “Klar, im öffentlichen Nah- und Fernverkehr, in Bussen und Bahnen wird Mund- und Nasenschutz zwingend. Das war bisher nur eine Empfehlung und die Fahrer werden aufpassen, dass kein Fahrgast ohne Maske einsteigt”, sagte Arafat.

Der Mund- und Nasenschutz muss zur zweiten Natur werden, stellte der Staatssekretär klar. Er selbst müsse im Dienstwagen Maske tragen, wenn er nicht selbst fährt, sagte er. Allerdings müsse man da nicht ständig mit dem Strafzettel winken, dass sei nicht die Idee, meinte Raed Arafat. Um Gedränge zu vermeiden regte er an, dass mehr Busse und Bahnen verkehren und die Beschäftigten zu unterschiedlichen Uhrzeiten zur Arbeit fahren. Arafat findet zudem, dass Masken auch in Geschäften getragen werden sollten und die Bürger sich besser daran gewöhnen, dass ihnen beim Aufsuchen des Arbeitsplatzes und auch beispielsweise beim Museumsbesuch das Fieber gemessen wird. Ihm zufolge werden die Beschränkungen stufenweise gelockert und die Behörden werden fortlaufend prüfen, welche Auswirkungen die Lockerung hat.

Unterdessen berücksichtigen die Behörden sämtliche Möglichkeiten nach Ablauf des Notstandes Mitte Mai. Alles werde geprüft — auch eine Verlängerung des Notstands oder ein Alarmzustand, der mildere Ma‎ßnahmen erlaubt, sagte Ionel Dancă, der Leiter der Premierministerkanzlei. Für den Fall, dass auf die Notstandsverlängerung verzichtet wird, steht eine breite Aufklärungskampagne zur Diskussion, damit die Menschen sich höchstgradig an die Empfehlungen halten.

4 May 2020
The Week in Review 30-03-05.04.2020

Romania affected by the COVID-19 pandemic

As of Monday, when the threshold of 2,000 cases of contamination was exceeded, Romania has entered stage 4 of the strategy meant to fight the coronavirus crisis. The number of contaminations and deaths continues to grow and the authorities believe that the pandemic in Romania will peak somewhere at the end of April. Many deplore the fact that there are not sufficient tests for the population.

According to the Strategic Communication Group in Bucharest, almost 28,500 tests had been processed countrywide by April 2. Also, the Romanian hospitals don’t seem to be properly equipped to be able to face a surge in the number of patients. And the situation in Suceava (northeast) is proof thereof! On Monday evening it was announced that about one third of the total number of contaminations and deaths reported across Romania was registered in Suceava alone. Moreover, of all the medical staff infected across Romania, almost two thirds, that is around 200, are from the Suceava county hospital.

Consequently, the central authorities decided early this week to quarantine the entire city alongside 8 surrounding communes. Subsequently, a military doctor was placed at the helm of the Suceava hospital given that the former interim manager resigned due to stress, the lack of personnel, medical equipment and products.

The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has called on the medical staff to return to work: “The medical staff needs to be urgently tested so that they can return to work as soon as they have recovered. They need one more testing device that will be made available to them as soon as possible. They now have medicines, protection equipment, and procedures are also in place. I am addressing especially the physicians and medical staff from the Suceava hospital: please, go back to work, take care of the sick, and observe the procedures! We are counting on you!”

He also called on the government to identify funds to be channeled as bonuses to the salary of the medical staff that will work with patients infected with COVID-19. In Romania, the coronavirus pandemic has made several doctors and nurses to resign for fear they might get infected. Also some of the medical staff resigned to protest against the lack of protection equipment.

Operation ‘Equipping hospitals’ in full swing

The Romanian authorities have taken new measures to help those who are on the front line of the fight against the new coronavirus. According to the head of the Department for Emergency Situations Raed Arafat, the specialized medical staff, the auxiliary sanitary staff and other categories of sanitary staff are not allowed to refuse temporary assignment to a certain medical unit during the state of emergency, they are obliged to go wherever they are asked to, even in public hospitals with staff shortage from other counties of Romania. Raed Arafat also announced that hospitals are not allowed to refuse hospitalization of patients on the grounds that they are or are not confirmed with coronavirus infection. Consequently, the medical staff is obliged to wear protection equipment at all times.

In another development, a C-17 Globemaster III NATO aircraft has brought to Bucharest from South Korea a second tranche of 100 thousand hazmat suits. A C-27J Spartan aircraft of the Romanian Air Forces has brought from Turkey 100 thousand face masks of the FFP2 and FFP3 types. Also the Romanian Army has set up near Bucharest a ROL 2-type field hospital which is now operational. In the city port of Constanta (southeast) works are under way to build a modular isolation and treatment hospital, which will operate as an extension of the Infectious Diseases Section of the Military Hospital from Constanta. Also, Romania saw the start of the production of face masks, with some 15 million masks expected to be produced monthly.

New decisions on entering Romania

Based on military decree no. 5, Romania has extended the suspension of flights to and from Spain and Italy, the European countries most affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Also, the list of ‘red zones’ for which quarantine is required was updated on Thursday, to include 12 countries: Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Iran, Great Britain, the Netherlands, the US and Turkey. Thus the Romanian citizens coming from these countries will be quarantined in specialized institutions for 14 days. The people coming from abroad will also have to self isolate for 14 days. The decision took effect on April 3, at midnight, Romania’s time. At the same time, 20 times higher fines were enforced for those people who violate the state of emergency. Fines for individuals reach up to 4 thousand Euros while for companies up to almost 15 thousand Euros.

Alarming figures from the Labor Ministry

Data provided by the Labor Ministry on April 2 shows that the number of Romanians left without a job stands at almost 174 thousand as their contracts were terminated. More than 860 thousand people are in technical unemployment. And the figures are alarmingly growing. Most of the people who lost their jobs were working in such fields as retail and wholesale trade, car and motorcycle repair, hotels, restaurants and constructions. Consequently the Romanian Government and Parliament are trying to work out solutions to support the population as well as the economic sectors affected by the crisis. (translation by L. Simion)

4 April 2020
Jurnal românesc – 21.12.2016

Ministerul de Externe a anunţat inaugurarea a două centre de
informare ale României, la Bălţi, în Republica Moldova, respectiv Ismail, în
Ucraina. Centrul de la Ismail a fost inaugurat marţi. Înfiinţat în baza
protocolului semnat între MAE şi Universitatea Umanistă de Stat din Ismail,
Centrul de Informare al României este primul centru de acest fel din cadrul
universităţii ucrainene. Centrul de la Bălţi, din Republica Moldova, a fost
inaugurat pe 15 decembrie, proiectul fiind finanţat de Departamentul Politici
pentru Relaţia cu Românii de Pretutindeni din cadrul MAE, în baza unui protocol
semnat între minister şi Universitatea Alecu Russo din Bălţi. Obiectivul
centrelor de informare este de a contribui în mod semnificativ la procesul de
extindere a prezenţei limbii române în regiune şi de promovare a culturii şi
civilizaţiei româneşti în zonele din jurul graniţelor ţării unde trăiesc
comunităţi importante de români. Principalele domenii de activitate vizează
realizarea de proiecte şi programe de perfecţionare în limba română, ateliere
tematice în domeniul istoriei, geografiei şi civilizaţiei româneşti, sesiuni de
formare şi familiarizare cu tematici ale Uniunii Europene, precum şi dezbateri
pe teme de actualitate românească. Accesul va fi gratuit pentru toţi cei
interesaţi de activităţile desfăşurate.

Şeful Departamentului
pentru Situaţii de Urgenţă, secretarul de stat Raed Arafat, atenţionează că
este extrem de periculos că unele persoane publice susţin că nu ar trebui
vaccinaţi copiii, menţionând totodată că cel mai grav ar fi revenirea unor boli
care au fost eradicate datorită campaniilor de vaccinare. El a precizat că, din
cauza refuzului părinţilor de a-şi vaccina copiii, a început să reapară
poliomielita, boală ce a fost eradicată prin vaccinare. Potrivit lui Raed
Arafat, vaccinarea copiilor este ”vitală”, iar aceştia nu trebuie condamnaţi
la moarte sau la mutilare.

Firmele mici şi mijlocii din Romania nu au o problemă cu accesul la
finanţare, crede Banca Naţională a României, arătând că peste 80% dintre
IMM-urile active din ţară nu au luat niciodată bani cu împrumut de la bănci. Pe
de altă parte, băncile au continuat să atragă clienţi noi, prin creditarea de
firme care nu au accesat credite în ultimii doi ani şi, într-o mai mică măsură,
prin finanţarea companiilor înfiinţate recent. În primele nouă luni ale anului,
au fost împrumutate circa 9.200 de firme noi, care au atras un volum de
finanţare de aproximativ 3 miliarde de lei. O proporţie semnificativă din sumele
acordate de bănci firmelor noi pe piaţa creditului s-a îndreptat către firmele
din sectorul construcţii şi imobiliar.

Autorităţile locale
vor putea ridica maşinile parcate neregulamentar pe carosabil, după 30 de zile
de la publicarea în Monitorul Oficial a Hotărârii de Guvern adoptate săptămâna
trecută, deci după 20 ianuarie, potrivit actului normativ. Totuşi, primarii
spun că au nevoie de mai mult timp pentru aplicare. În plus, sunt administraţii
locale care nu doresc să ridice maşinile parcate neregulamentar pe carosabil.
Reprezentanţii Poliţiei spun că ridicarea maşinilor se va face când fiecare
Primărie va avea un serviciu de ridicări. Faţă de anii trecuţi, noutatea este
că ridicarea maşinilor va fi solicitată de Poliţia Rutieră, care va chema firma
care ridică maşinile să pună în practică decizia. Vehiculul ridicat se
restituie după ce se face dovada achitării tarifului aferent operaţiunilor
efectuate, în baza documentelor care atestă proprietatea sau deţinerea legală a
acestuia. Programul de restituire a vehiculelor depozitate în spaţiile special
amenajate se asigură prin serviciu continuu, pe durata a 24 de ore.

21 December 2016