Radio România Internațional

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Cancer and lifestyle

The number of deaths from cancer are going up.

Unfortunately, the number of young people affected by cancer is also increasing. The trend is observed worldwide, according to a study that analyzes global statistics and focuses on 29 types of cancer in people aged 14 to 49. According to this study, between 1990 and 2019, the incidence of cancer increased by approximately 79%.This upward trend is also valid in Romania, where cancer is the second cause of death, after cardiovascular diseases. In the European Union, Romania ranks first in mortality in oncological pathology, with 48% more deaths than the European average and over 20,000 deaths that could be avoided each year.

Why this increase in illnesses among people, in general and young people, in particular? There are many causes. Among them – lifestyle, including nutrition, which is discussed by Doctor Mircea Beuran, an expert in medical sciences, specializing in oncological surgery at the Floreasca Emergency Hospital in Bucharest: ʺChange in lifestyle! You should know that we are observing this now as the tip of the iceberg, but there are observations from oncological studies that the changes, slowly, gradually, appeared around the 1950s, with industrialization, with the change in life in capitalist countries, with the change in toxins, diet, habits, etc. All of this, over time, against the backdrop of genetic changes that we all carry, has created the favorable ground for it to develop. This analysis, made at an international level – America, Japan, Europe – shows that cancer numbers in young people is increasing. Without relying on purely local statistics, I can tell you from the cases we have at Floreasca Hospital that in the case of young people, there is an increase in cancers of the digestive tract, esophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, small intestine, liver. Every day, the surgery at Floreasca has two, three, four colon, rectal… complicated cancers. It is linked to many things – the consumption of hydrocarbon drinks, energy drinks, alcohol, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, working under stress. Then, many are addicted to activity under blue radiation, such as the computer monitor, tablet, phone. I can tell you that some people are sleep deprived and we don’t only see this in young adults, but we also see it, from conversations with them, in their children.ʺ

According to Doctor Mircea Beuran, the most common type of cancer is colorectal cancer, which the renowned surgeon attributes to an inadequate diet: ʺI’m referring to the fact that a lot of the food we eat comes from ultra-processed things. This ultra-processing loads the respective food with a number of toxins, that it is linked to coloring, preservation, the particularity of the smell, and so on. These toxins, which cannot be neutralised, can only produce changes at cell level. These changes, over time, develop tumors. Tumors of all kinds. So eating vegetables and fruit is a must! And the food options we keep discussing are about not eating food that it is not cooked at home.ʺ

The last meal of the day should be taken around 7:00 p.m. And, Dr. Beuran says, when we eat, we should not get up from the table full, to give the body the peace it needs to process the food bowl. As for the night meals, these are out of the question. There are opinions in the international medical world that alcoholic beverages should carry on a special label, like tobacco, a warning about the risk of cancer. Dr. Beuran also believes that it would be a good thing: ʺAlcohol consumption, even in small quantities, is associated with seven types of cancer. Chronic alcohol consumption, even in small quantities, changes the body’s behavior, towards obesity. And if alcohol is added to smoking, to a sedentary lifestyle, this only leads to very important changes, starting with the oral cavity. So, these chronic alcohol consumers have cancers of the mouth, esophagus, liver cancer, they get colorectal cancer, women get breast cancer. Alcohol increases hormone levels, especially estrogen and insulin. The increase in estrogen is a cause of breast cancer, and estrogens and insulin do nothing else, as hormones, than cause a division, a more frequent multiplication of cells, which is why, at a certain point, the body can no longer control this division and they can turn into cancerous tumors.ʺ

In other words, pay attention to quantity and quality! An unhealthy lifestyle, which we follow for a long time, can have a great negative impact on our life.

5 February 2025
February 13, 2022

UKRAINE In the context of the
Russian-Ukrainian standoff, the Romanian foreign ministry has raised the alert
level for Ukraine and advises Romanian citizens to avoid travelling to that
country. The foreign ministry firmly recommends avoiding travels to Crimea, to
the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and to Ukraine’s borders with Russia and
Belarus. Romanian nationals currently in Ukraine are urged to notify their
presence to Romania’s embassy or consular offices and to reconsider staying in
that country. The foreign ministry also calls on Romanian citizens, including
journalists, to avoid big crowds, to stay up to date with information from
reliable sources and to adjust their plans to the security situation there. A
growing number of countries, including the US, Britain and Germany, are urging
their citizens to leave Ukraine, as Western powers warn that a Russian invasion
may be imminent. Moscow has massed around 100,000 troops and military equipment
along the Ukrainian border and started military exercises at the Black Sea and
in Belarus, but denies any aggressive plans. The US president Joe Biden has
once again warned the Russian leader Vladimir Putin, over the telephone, of the
prospective consequences of an invasion.

NATO Meanwhile, US Stryker armoured
vehicles have reached the Mihail Kogălniceanu military base in southern Romania,
where 1,000 US troops will also be relocated from Germany to strengthen NATO’s
eastern flank. With the arrival of Task
Force Cougar, the number of American troops in Romania reaches nearly
2,000. France
has also voiced willingness to deploy troops to Romania. A NATO member since
2004, Romania was already hosting 900 American, 250 Polish and 140 Italian
troops. A unit of the US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), comprising around 150
troops and 8 F-16 Fighting Falcons, are conducting joint training missions with
Romanian troops and aircraft for 2 weeks. A senior Pentagon official also announced the US decided to send an
additional 3,000 troops to Poland as well.

COVID-19 The number of new COVID-19 cases
continues to drop in Romania, with nearly 12,000 new cases reported on Sunday
and 81 related deaths. Over 1,140 patients are currently in intensive care. The largest number
of infections since the start of the pandemic,
40,018, was reported on February 1. The health minister Alexandru Rafila said the number of new reported cases remains high,
although it is falling quickly, and once again pleaded for vaccination,
especially among vulnerable categories. As for lifting the restrictions, the
health minister did not specify a deadline, but stressed that relaxation will
be as quick as the situation allows it. In turn, the head of the
vaccination programme Valeriu Gheorghiţă said that in the future vaccination
will be seasonal, just like for the flu, and the vaccine will be adjusted to
the variant circulating at a particular time. He also said the
vaccination rate in Romania stands at 50.5% of the adult population.

PANDEMIC This weekend restrictions were eased off in Italy, Spain and
Iceland, while France and Germany are planning
to do the same in the coming weeks. Norway lifted the last protection measures
in the country in spite of a rise in the number of Omicron cases. However, the
protests initiated by truck drivers in Canada 2 weeks ago, and spreading to
several other countries on Saturday, are still going on. European drivers
headed to major capital cities to protest the compulsory vaccine and digital
certificate. Protests were organised in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia
and New Zealand. (A.M.P.)

13 February 2022
Children, a Covid-19 transmission vector

Romania saw record-high numbers of COVID-19
infections last week, with over 34,000 cases on Wednesday and more than 168,000
for the entire week. The number of related deaths remains lower than during the
autumn wave.

However, there are concerns related to the
transmission of the virus among children, as classes are held on-site across
the country until 75% of the hospital beds set aside for COVID patients are
occupied in any given county.

On Sunday, 3,800 children tested positive for
the coronavirus, and the total number for last week reached nearly 36,000. Kids
have become a COVID transmission vector, and the number of cases rises
exponentially from one day to the next, says the president of the Family
Doctors Association in Ialomiţa, Andreea Radu:

Andreea Radu: Children are known to spread the virus
very easily, because they learn and play in large groups. Although the Omicron variant
seems to cause milder forms of the disease, especially compared to the Delta, you
never know in what category you fall, whether you will indeed have a mild form
or not.

Some hospitals in the country open paediatric COVID
units to handle the severe cases among children. The manager of the Slobozia County
Emergency Hospital Liviu Patrichi warns that the number of such cases is
growing:

Liviu Patrichi: The problem we are facing now
compared to the other waves of the pandemic is the large number of mild and
medium cases among children. We have opened a COVID paediatric unit, which is
running at the capacity specified in the resilience plan. We have 9 dedicated
beds for paediatric cases.

The health minister Alexandru Rafila said his professional
advice for the parents who want to have their children vaccinated against COVID
is to get properly informed in advance. He added the immunisation of kids aged 5
to 11 runs smoothly and the good organisation gives confidence to parents.

The upward trend in the number of COVID-19 cases
will last for another few days, Alexandru Rafila also said. In hospitals, the
number of COVID patients is on the rise, and the complications and severe cases
that reach ICUs are mainly caused by the Delta variant, which still accounts
for around 20% of the new infections.

Mr. Rafila also estimates that in about 2 weeks’
time, the already prevailing Omicron variant will have completely replaced
Delta in Romania as well, which will slow down the inflow of patients in hospitals.
According to him, this will be the last wave likely to have a serious impact on
public health, and starting this spring we might resume public and private
events with large numbers of participants, which have been subject to the most
severe restrictions over the past 2 years. (A.M.P.)

31 January 2022
Steep rise in Covid-19 cases

Romania hit a new record this week in terms of new
COVID-19 cases in 24 hours-over 34,000, with the number of tests conducted also
going up significantly.

We
had predicted this development, caused by the higher transmission rate of the Omicron
compared to previous variants of the virus. We still have severe cases caused
by the Delta variant, which still accounts for 20 to 25% of the infections and
which reflects in the number of patients in intensive care, the health
minister Alexandru Rafila said.

In
fact, he expects the figure to skyrocket next week to over 40,000 daily
infection cases. A downward trend in infection might begin only after February
10, Rafila also said.

In
recent days, the testing capacity has increased substantially, as over 3,800 family
doctors around the country have registered to provide tests, and in the capital
Bucharest 30 test centres have been opened in hospitals. The authorities want this
testing procedure extended across the country.

The
largest number of new cases is reported in Bucharest and in the counties of Timiş
(south-west), Bihor (west), Iaşi (east) and Cluj (north-west). The number of
patients in hospitals and in ICUs, as well as the number of related deaths, is
also on the rise. Minister Alexandru Rafila warned that in certain counties the
capacity of healthcare facilities is stretched to the limits. In Cluj county,
68% of the hospital places set aside for COVID patients are filled, which is
the highest occupancy rate in the country. According to the authorities, when
this rate goes over 75%, schools will switch to online teaching.

After
the new record in COVID-19 cases, the health minister says that for the time
being there are no reasons to panic and schools will stay open except for the
places with clusters of at least 3 infections in each class.

In
this context, the authorities once again emphasise the importance of face
covering, of physical distancing and other hygiene measures, as well as of
vaccination.

In
fact, the National Public Health Institute has announced that over 85% of the
COVID-related deaths reported last week in Romania were among unvaccinated
patients, and over half of the Romanians who tested positive during the same
period had not received the vaccine. Of the vaccinated people who got the virus,
over half were either infected shortly after vaccination, or more than 6 months
since receiving the last dose.

Since
the start of the vaccine roll-out in Romania, 50% of the adult population have
received at least one vaccine dose, and the vaccination rate for Romania’s
total population is near 42%. (A.M.P.)

28 January 2022
Coronavirus vaccine for children

In spite of a very good
start 13 months ago, the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out in Romania gradually went on
a strong downward trend, influenced by information without a scientific foundation
circulating in the public space, and unfortunately supported at times by
healthcare staff as well.

The authorities’ efforts
to encourage immunisation failed to get Romania above the last but one place in
the EU in terms of the vaccination rate. After the initial enthusiasm faded, there
were rare increases in the number of people going to vaccination centres,
either scared of the large number of infections or of the prospect of being
requested a vaccination certificate at the workplace.

The ambitious targets
announced by the authorities got increasingly hard to reach, and according to
current figures few over 8 million Romanians have at least one vaccine dose.

In the capital Bucharest nearly
67% of the people have got at least one dose of vaccine, while 7 other counties have vaccination rates between 50% and 60%, 24 counties
between 40% and 50%, and 10 counties have rates between 30% and 40%, the
coordinator of the vaccination campaign in Romania Valeriu Gheorghiță announced
last week. That was the week when Romania saw over 19,000 infection cases in 24
hours, which is more than on any other day since the start of the pandemic.

The situation is
not yet stable, with estimates pointing to a possible 25-28,000 cases per day
this week. The largest numbers of confirmed cases are in Bucharest and Ilfov County, where the demand for
testing is also high. In order meet this demand as soon as possible, the Health
Ministry, which estimates the current wave will peak in around 3 weeks’ time,
decided to open 28 testing centres in as many hospitals.

A feature of this
pandemic wave is the large number of infected children-some 8-9% of the
patients in hospitals are kids. A reason for that may be the change in the
rules governing online teaching, which is now only permitted if 75% of the places
for COVID patients in hospitals are filled.

On the other hand, on January
26 Romania is set to begin vaccination for children aged 5 to 11. The dedicated
online platform allowed for children vaccination appointments to be made as of January
13, and several thousand requests have already been registered. (A.M.P.)

25 January 2022
December 26, 2021

CHRISTMAS New Style Orthodox Christians, and Greek and Roman Catholic Christians
around the world today celebrate the second day of Christmas. In Eastern
Christianity, this day is devoted to Mary, mother of God. In his Nativity
service on the 25th December, Daniel, Patriarch of Romania spoke about the
meaning of the gifts presented by the 3 kings to the newborn Jesus: the gold
means our belief, the incense is a symbol of prayer and the myrrh symbolises a
clean life. At the Vatican, Pope Francis warned
that the world is growing so insensitive to crises and suffering that these now
go unnoticed. Pope Francis, who also called for the Covid vaccine to be made
available in poorer countries as well, said the pandemic undermines the
efforts to settle international conflicts. Old Style Orthodox believers in Russia, Ukraine,
Serbia, and Georgia celebrate Christmas on 7th January.

COVID-19 One year since the start of the Covid vaccine roll-out in Romania,
nearly 7.8 million Romanians are fully vaccinated, and around 2 million also
have the booster dose. This indicates that interest in vaccination has not been
high, except for a few brief periods of enthusiasm or fear triggered by the
pandemic’s successive waves. As many as 349 new SARS-CoV-2 infection cases have
been reported for the past 24 hours, along with 15 related fatalities, the
Strategic Communication Group announced on Sunday. Some 450 patients are in
intensive care, over 90% of them being unvaccinated.

STRATEGY The EU has a new
strategy in place to compete with China-Global Getaway is a response to China’s
2013 New Silk Roads, under which investments of 140 billion euros have been
made so far. With the new instrument, the EU seeks to consolidate the digital
sector, transports and the healthcare, education and research systems around
the world. The investments planned until 2027 amount to 300 billion euro. The EU is also
considering the option of introducing a European export credit mechanism to
help ensure fairer competition conditions for EU
companies in 3rd markets. At present, 165 countries have debts of at
least 385 billion US dollars to China for projects under the New Silk Roads
initiative, while 42 small and medium revenue countries have debts to China in
excess of 10% of their GDP.

UKRAINE Germany and Russia have agreed to
hold a meeting in early January, as part of the efforts to settle the
Russian-Western crisis over the Ukrainian border, German governmental sources
quoted by AFP said. The meeting will be held by the German Chancellor Olaf
Scholz’s foreign and security policy adviser Jens Ploetner, and Kremlin’s
negotiator for Ukraine, Dmitry Kozak. For over a month now, Western Europe has
been accusing Russia of deploying more than 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian
border for a possible military intervention, and has repeatedly warned Kremlin
on this topic. Russia claims its military is not a threat to anybody and
demands security guarantees from the West, especially with respect to NATO’s
eastwards enlargement. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

26 December 2021
December 23, 2021

REVOLUTION Romania’s Parliament convened this morning in a solemn
meeting devoted to the 32 years since the anti-communist revolution of December
1989. Originating in Timișoara (west), on 16th December, the uprising spread
across the country, culminating with dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu fleeing the
capital city on 22nd December amid the protests of hundreds of thousands of
Romanians. Captured by the Army, Ceauşescu and his wife Elena were subject to a
summary trial and executed in the southern town of Târgovişte. Romania was the
only country behind the Iron Curtain where the change of regime was accompanied
by bloodshed. Over 1,000 people were killed and some 3,000 wounded.

BUDGET Romanian MPs are due to vote today on the draft state budget and
social security budget laws for 2022. The government
passed the bills on Monday and promised the budget ensures stability and
predictability. The Liberal leader and ex-PM Florin Cîţu criticised the fact
that 6.7% of GDP was earmarked for investments, instead of 7% as agreed within
the ruling coalition. The Social Democratic leader Marcel Ciolacu argued
however that the budget execution is more important than the exact breakdown of
expenditure. The leader of USR party in opposition, Dacian Cioloş, says the
draft budget relies on over-estimated revenues and said although public
education is a priority for President Iohannis, not enough funding has been
earmarked for the sector.

COVID-19 775 new SARS-CoV-2 infection cases were reported in the past 24 hours in Romania, along with 81 related
fatalities, 44 of them from a previous date. Since the start of the pandemic
Romania has had around 1.8 million COVID-19 cases,
and more than 58,000 patients died. Amid
anti-vaccine sentiments fuelled by some media, politicians and opinion leaders,
the country has the 2nd lowest immunisation rate in the EU, after Bulgaria.

EU
FUNDING The government
of Romania passed an emergency order allowing for the accessing of a roughly
15-billion euro loan granted by the European Commission under the Recovery and
Resilience Mechanism. The loan agreement between the European Commission and
Romania was signed in Bucharest on 26th November and in Brussels on 15th
December. Under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Romania benefits
from some 29 billion euro, of which approx. 14 billion in non-reimbursable
funds and some 15 billion in loans. The loan will be available until the end of
2026.

BASKETBALL The national men’s basketball champions, Universitatea-Banca
Transilvania Cluj-Napoca, qualified into the second stage of the Champions
League group matches, after defeating the Turkish side Daruşşafaka in a suspensefull
match away from home, 103-101. The Romanian team is thus the leader of Group G,
with 5 wins and one defeat. Group leaders go straight into the second stage of
the competition, scheduled for January-March 2022. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

23 December 2021
December 22, 2021 UPDATE

REVOLUTION The heroes who died in the December 1989 anti-communist
uprising were commemorated on Wednesday in Bucharest. Religious services and
military ceremonies were held at the cemeteries and monuments across the
country devoted to those who sacrificed their lives for freedom. Thirty-two years ago, Bucharest became the heart of the
protests that culminated with the ousting of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. The
president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, sent a message on the Day of
the Victory of the Romanian Revolution and of Freedom. December 1989 opened
Romania’s path to democracy, allowed for our NATO and EU accession, for signing
the Strategic Partnership with the USA and turned Romania into a regional
security provider. None of this would have been possible without our
anti-communist revolution, Iohannis pointed out. He said it is a shame that no one has paid for the victims of the terrible
crackdown and called on the judiciary to bring the ones responsible to justice.

BUDGET The draft state budget and
social security budget laws for 2022 are being discussed by the Parliament of
Romania. At the start of the session, PM Nicolae Ciucă said the proposed state
budget is balanced, responsible and realistic, and able to consolidate the
economy in the long run. He also said it is the budget that earmarked the
largest amounts for investments in the last 32 years. Cuica promised that taxes
will not go up and there will be no pressure on the business community.
Previously, Parliament’s specialised committees had green-lighted the bills. The budget is based on an
estimated economic growth rate of 4.6% and a GDP of some 260 billion euro, a
predicted inflation rate of 6.5% and gross average salaries of 1,200 euros per
month. USR party in opposition is considering
taking the draft budget law to the Constitutional Court, claiming that mayors
from that party have not received budget appropriations, which is an instance
of discrimination.

PROTESTS The
Romanian police arrested 2 people and fined around 200 organisers and
participants in Wednesday’s protest of the supporters of AUR party, an ultra-nationalist
and anti-vaccine party in Romania’s parliament. The protest was sparked by the
authorities’ plan to make the digital COVID certificate a requirement at the
workplace. The rally spiralled into vandalism, with one of the arrested
participants pushing through the Parliament’s gates and the other suspected of
having vandalised 4 vehicles. The investigation continues.

COVID-19 Nearly 200,000 people have generated digital
forms to enter Romanian territory since the launch of the application, most of
them at the ‘Henri Coandă’ International Airport in Bucharest. As of December
20, all passengers arriving in Romania are to fill in the Passenger Locator
Form (PLF), a document used by 18 EU member countries. Meanwhile, 851 new Covid-19
infections were reported for the past 24 hours in Romania, along with 62 related fatalities, 18 of them from a
previous date. As many as 2,830 SARS-CoV-2 patients are hospitalised, including
62 children. More than 7.7 million people in Romania are fully vaccinated. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

22 December 2021
7.5 million Romanians, fully vaccinated

Since the start of
the vaccine roll-out on December 27, last year, nearly 7.8 million people have received
one of the 4 anti-Covid vaccines-Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and
Johnson&Johnson, and 7.5 million of them are now fully vaccinated.

The number of COVID
19 cases is on the decrease, but authorities are once again calling for
vaccination and compliance with protection measures, while the introduction of the
compulsory COVID certificate before New Year’s is rather unlikely.

The head of the
Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, said that mobile vaccination
centres will be organised in rural areas in the forthcoming period. He also
added that the vaccine is the ‘best solution’ to prevent severe forms of the
disease.

Romanian hospitals
are seeing the lowest number of COVID-19 patients since the start of the 4th
wave, with around 900 patients in intensive care.

The health minister
Alexandru Rafila has recently talked with representatives of family
physician associations. According to
him, one of the main emergencies at the moment is developing the testing
capacity in family physician practices, as well as improving the assessment and
treatment of milder forms of the disease. Funds will be earmarked to this end,
so that patients need not incur additional costs. For confirmed coronavirus
cases, family physicians will be able to prescribe anti-viral medication:

Alexandru Rafila: The refund
package for testing covers the testing as such and the protection materials for
healthcare personnel. Apart from that, for confirmed cases the option of a
minimal funding package will be available, allowing for investigations and the
prescription of outpatient anti-viral treatment, which obviously will be protective
for patients and healthcare STAFF, so as to make sure that anti-viral treatment
is only given after prior assessment of the patients.

At EU
level, Brussels is considering the introduction of compulsory COVID-19
vaccination requirements, as the new variant, Omicron, keeps spreading. Austria has
announced vaccination will be mandatory as of February 1, and it is the first
country in Western Europe and one of the few in the world to take this step. Germany
is also considering making vaccination mandatory, with Parliament to make a
decision in this respect by year end. In turn, Greece announced this measure will
be introduced for citizens over 60 years of age, and similar ideas are taken
into account in other EU member states as well. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

6 December 2021
Third vaccine doses, now available in Romania

Romania has joined the countries administering a third
dose of anti-Covid vaccines to their citizens. As of Tuesday, people fully vaccinated
at least six months before may receive booster doses.

In a fist stage, immunisation is open to people over
65 years of age, chronic patients, healthcare and social assistance staff and other
vulnerable categories included in the national vaccination strategy.

The third vaccine dose can be given without prior
appointments in several hundreds of centres around the country, only with mRNA
vaccine. Therefore, people who have received Astra Zeneca vaccines will now get
a third dose produced by Pfizer or Moderna.

Given that vaccination with the Johnson & Johnson serum
began on May 4th in Romania, a booster dose for those who received
this vaccine is not yet necessary. The authorities announced that, alongside
the third dose administration, the immunisation of people who are now choosing
to get vaccinated against COVID-19 continues.

Official statistics point to an alarming increase in
the number of new Covid-19 cases. Between September 20 and 27, almost 48,000
new cases were reported in the country, as against around 30,000 the previous
week.

Dr. Gindrovel Dumitra, coordinator of the vaccinology
group in the Romanian Family Physicians Association, urged people to get the
vaccine, and explained on Radio Romania, what this new wave of the pandemic entails:

Gindrovel Dumitra: I can see a much faster doubling
of the aggregate infection rate. With previous variants, the infection rate
would double every 14-21 days. We are now in a situation where the number of
cases doubles every 7-10 days or even sooner than 7 days. There are places
where this doubling occurs much more quickly. Personally, I am not surprised,
because as I have said over time, it was clear that the Delta variant was going
to spread, even though a lot of people were unconvinced, especially among coronavirus
sceptics.

With 33% of its population fully vaccinated, according
to EU statistics, Romania is only ahead of Bulgaria in this respect. All its
fellow European countries have completed immunisation schemes for over half of
their citizens or even 80%, as is the case in France, Spain, Portugal or the
Nordic states.

Meanwhile, the government announced it would analyse
which measures taken in the other EU countries have had the biggest impact in
terms of speeding up vaccination, and will implement them in Romania as well. The
authorities also consider making vaccination compulsory for some professional
categories, such as healthcare and teaching staff. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

28 September 2021
September 25, 2021

COVID-19 The number of COVID
cases continues to rise in Romania, with more than 7,000 daily new cases
reported for several days in a row. Nearly 10,000 SARS-CoV-2 patients are in
hospitals, 264 of them children, while 1,195 patients are in intensive care. Nationwide,
hundreds towns and villages are on the red list of places with infection rates
of over 3 per thousand. The capital Bucharest is also on the list, and as of
today additional restrictions are in place in the city. The digital COVID
certificate is required for participation in certain events, and even so indoor
weddings and similar events are to be attended by 200 people at most, while
restaurants, performance halls, pools and the like operate at half their
capacity and only accept COVID certificate holders. As the number of infections
grows, Romanians get more open to immunisation, with over 17,000 people having
received a shot in the last 24 hours.

LIBERALS
The Liberals are today
electing their president for the next 4 years, in a Congress attended among
others by President Klaus Iohannis. Thousands of delegates from all party
branches in the country are choosing between the incumbent party chief Ludovic
Orban and PM Florin Cîţu. Ludovic Orban argues he is a sure bet for the party,
and that his goal is to rebuild the image of the party and citizens’ confidence
in it. He says the National Liberal Party should support Romanian businesses
and reaffirm and promote individual rights and liberties. His challenger says
he has entered the competition in order to build and unify the Liberal Party.
I strongly believe only a Liberal Romania can ensure the wellbeing of its
citizens, Florin Cîţu argues, and says his priorities are to revise the
Constitution, to ensure the country joins the Schengen visa-free area, to boost
investments and motivate entrepreneurs. The two ran harsh campaigns, with
unprecedented attacks against each other. At stake is more than the party
presidency, and today’s battle is to also decide the governing formula, the
parliamentary majority and the holders of the prime minister and Chamber of
Deputies speaker posts.

FRIGATE The Romanian frigate
Queen Marie has concluded its participation in the NATO Operation Sea
Guardian, in the Mediterranean, and is docking today in the Black Sea
port of Constanţa. During the 3 weeks of commanding the NATO vessel unit, Queen
Marie inspected over 800 ships in the Mediterranean. The IAR Puma Naval
helicopter on board of the frigate contributed to the early identification of
suspicious vessels. Also taking part in Operation Sea Guardian were
vessels, aircraft and submarines from Romania, Croatia, Italy, Greece, Turkey,
Spain and Germany, and the missions contributed to strengthening security in
Europe’s southern flank.

SALARY Romanians last year
earned gross salaries of roughly 1,030 euros, the National Statistics Institute
announced, up 7.4% since the previous year. Net salaries, averaging at 650
euros per month, also increased by 7.7%. The best paying sectors are IT&C, finances
and insurance, public administration and the energy sector. At the opposite
pole are the hospitality industry, agriculture, forestry and fishery, and the
real estate market.

ELECTION In Germany, the last
electoral rallies were held ahead of Sunday’s election, in which over 60 million
citizens are to elect the 20th Bundestag (the single-chamber federal
parliament). According to Radio Romania’s correspondent, this historic election
may see the end of the 16-year leadership of Angela Merkel’s Conservatives. The
incumbent chancellor, who stepped down as party president, urged her supporters
to vote for Armin Laschet, the Christian Democratic Union candidate, to ensure
the stability of the country. However, all recent polls indicate that the
incumbent finance minister Olaf Scholz, the candidate backed by the Social
Democratic Party (SPD) is ahead of Laschet. The election marks the end of the Merkel
era, and press agencies note that given the tight race, the next government may
require an alliance of 3 parties.

DIASPORA A Romanian Foreign
Ministry official discussed with members of the Romanian community in Italy
about improving consular services, as many diaspora members are unhappy with
the difficult and often unfriendly procedures required by the Romanian
authorities. The head of the ministry’s Consular Department Valentin Muntean
presented the reforms planned by the authorities, in a hybrid meeting attended
by all the general consuls in Italy and around 40 representatives of Romanian
associations in that country. The participants tackled means to modernise and
broaden the consular network, to simplify procedures, to upgrade and optimise
the digital platforms and systems used by the Romanian authorities, and to
reduce red-tape. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

25 September 2021
July 21, 2021

COVID-19 The number of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Romania is relatively low, but authorities expect a slight increase in the coming period. 102 new infection cases and 2 related casualties were reported on Wednesday out of over 27,000 tests performed. 38 patients are in intensive care. As regards the anti-Covid vaccination, more than 16,600 people got immunized in the past 24 hours. 4.7 million Romanians have been fully vaccinated so far. Romania will continue, both independently and at EU level, to donate or re-sell some vaccine doses. This week a new donation to the Republic of Moldova is scheduled, after batches sent previously to Serbia, Ukraine, Argentina and Vietnam.

GOVERNMENT The government of Romania convenes today in a meeting scheduled to focus, among other things, on a regulation concerning the provision of financial aid for the purchase of computers. The draft resolution regulates the issue of 200-euro vouchers to be distributed to youth, and the identification data required of the beneficiaries. The governments agenda also includes regulations concerning the annual budgets of several public institutions. PM Florin Cîţu said a resolution will also be passed in todays meeting, granting the funds for reconstruction works already initiated in the places affected by natural disasters since the beginning of the year. To address the damages occurring in the past few days, the PM requested a quick assessment so that the funds may be earmarked in the mid-year budget adjustment.

MILITARY A military ceremony was held today in central Bucharest, at the Arch of Triumph, to mark the completion of the Romanian Armys mission in Afghanistan. President Klaus Iohannis decorated the battle flags of the Romanian units that took part in the NATO mission Resolute Support in Afghanistan. A moment of silence was observed, and the names of the 27 Romanian troops who died in that theatre of operations were recited. The head of state emphasized that the Romanian Armed Forces mission in Afghanistan will be remembered as the longest, most complex and most important military operation outside national borders since WW2. According to Iohannis, for 19 years over 32,000 troops took part in this mission.

DEFICIT Romanias agri-food trade deficit went up nearly 66% in the first quarter of this year compared to the corresponding period of 2020. According to the Romanian Agriculture Ministry, in January – March 2021 Romania exported agricultural and food products worth 1.74 billion euro and spent almost 2.5 billion euro on importing such products.

MIGRANTS Six migrants from Afghanistan, Syria and Algeria were caught by Romanian authorities in the last 24 hours trying to cross the border illegally into Hungary. According to the Romanian Border Police, 4 of the migrants were found in a lorry headed for the Netherlands, another one in a truck going to Denmark, while a 6th was trying to walk over the border. Investigations are under way in all 6 cases.

FOOTBALL Romanias football champions CFR Cluj Tuesday defeated 2-1 away from home the Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar, in the second preliminary round of the Champions League. On Thursday CS Universitatea Craiova will take on the Albanian side KF Laci, while Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe will play against Spartak Trnava of Slovakia, in the second preliminary round of the newly created Europa Conference League. Also playing in the second preliminary round are Romanias vice-champions FCSB, who will take on Shahtior Karaganda of Kazakhstan. The first leg is scheduled for 22 July, and the second leg a week later.

TENNIS Irina Bara (Romania) / Varvara Lepchenko (USA) Tuesday qualified in the quarter-finals of the doubles competition in Gdynia (Poland), after defeating 7-6 , 7-6 the Polish players Ania Hertel/Martyna Kubka. Bara and Lepchenko are to play next against seeds no. 3 Ana Danilina (Kazakhstan) / Lidia Morozova (Belarus). In the singles tournament, Bara is up against Kristina Kucova (Slovakia) in the 8th-finals, while another Romanian player, Irina Begu, seed no. 3, takes on Katarzyna Kawa of Poland. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

21 July 2021
Intensive care units, under pressure

The recent surge in the number of coronavirus infection cases in Europe may lead, in a few weeks time, to the overcrowding of intensive care units. This is the warning coming from the World Health Organisation against the backdrop of the growing number of COVID-19 hospitalisations.

Romania is currently experiencing the most difficult period since the start of the healthcare crisis in late February, with record-high numbers of cases and of patients in intensive care. Specifically, last week the number of new daily cases was around 4,000, with the capital city Bucharest ranking first by number of COVID-19 patients. Also, the number of patients in ICUs at national level is around 750.

The Bucharest prefect Gheorghe Cojanu has already announced that there are no more available beds in dedicated hospitals. As a result, the decision was made that as of Monday another hospital, Colentina, would receive Sars-Cov-2 patients exclusively.

Gheorghe Cojanu: “In Bucharest there are no more beds available in ICUs. This is a rather serious problem, which is why [state secretary] Raed Arafat announced us that a document has already been signed, for Colentina hospital to be exclusively receiving COVID-19 patients. So there will be 300 – 400 beds available for these patients. Also, Elias hospital has a modular unit which has been operating on short periods, because they did not have medical staff on a permanent basis, and an order has been given for Floreasca and Elias hospitals to provide medical staff to that unit.

According to prefect Gheorghe Cojanu, the physicians and nurses working in the schools that have switched to online classes and no longer work directly with children will be transferred to coronavirus hospitals.

Iaşi, the largest city in the east of Romania, is facing the same problems as Bucharest does. In Iaşi as well, all ICUs are full. Of the total number of 41 intensive care beds, the last 10 were occupied this weekend. The solution, i.e. 24 additional beds, was supposed to be a mobile hospital opened on Friday, but the oxygen generator broke down and it may take around 2 weeks to fix it. Meanwhile, local authorities have decided to open 2 intensive care units for Covid-19 patients in other hospitals in the region. But until these are operational, severe cases will be transferred to other medical units in the country. (translated by: A.M. Popescu)

19 October 2020
September 24, 2020 UPDATE

COVID-19 Following tests conducted at national level, 1,639 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been reported in Romania as against the previous reporting. 41 people died taking the death toll to 4,591. 506 persons infected with the new coronavirus are in ICUs. The health minister Nelu Tataru announced that 103 million face masks have been distributed across the country for the disadvantaged. He added that he did not expect a new state of emergency to be declared, which would force people to isolate themselves in their homes, and urged people to observe the rules for preventing the spread of the new coronavirus. Minister Tataru warned that if people failed to observe the rules the number of cases of infection would definitely grow.

PANDEMIC There are more than 32 million cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection around the world, with 980,000 people having been killed by the virus, according to worldometers.info. In France, the daily rise in the number of infections has brought restrictions back. The health minister Olivier Véran says the situation has worsened in the past two weeks, the spread of the virus being more intense in big urban agglomerations. Marseille and its metropolitan area are currently on high alert and as of Monday firm restrictions have been implemented for at least 2 weeks: bars, restaurants and cafes as well as other public areas were closed, with several exceptions, and most people returned to working from home. In Spain, doctors are preparing for protests after asking the government for many months, to no avail, to adopt further measures and allot more resources to avoid the collapse of the public health system, under extreme pressure due to the coronavirus pandemic. In Israel the coronavirus ministerial committee considers necessary a total lockdown starting on Friday, due to the big number of infections.

CEI The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu Thursday attended an online meeting of the Central European Initiative, hosted by Montenegro, the acting president. Bogdan Aurescu pointed out that the Covid-19 pandemic can only be overcome through international solidarity. According to a news release issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Aurescu emphasised Romanias contribution to fighting the pandemic, including the measures benefitting the Republic of Moldova, including the allocation of funds, medical teams and medical equipment, or the hosting of the RescEU strategic medical equipment reserve benefiting countries in the Western Balkans, among others. The Central European Initiative is a political platform that helps connect EU neighbouring countries to the values and standards of the Union. Romania joined the CEI, which comprises 17 countries, of which 9 are EU members, on June 1, 1996.

CORRUPTION Criminal prosecution was initiated on Thursday against the chief of the Romanian Gendarme Corps, Bogdan Enescu, charged with abuse of office. According to the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, this year Bogdan Enescu was paid around 7,500 euros for extra hours, in breach of relevant legislation. Bogdan Enescu has been the head of the Romanian Gendarme Corps since December 2019. Also on Thursday, Dan Hosu, former police and husband to the acting head of the Directorate Combating Organised Crime and Terrorism, Giorgiana Hosu, received a 3-year suspended sentence from the Bucharest Court, in a case in which he is accused of inciting illegal access to a computer system and inciting the use of information not intended for publication. The ruling is not final. One day before, president Klaus Iohannis said that if the DIICOT chiefs husband was sentenced, there would be consequences. Giorgiana Hosu was appointed to office this year by the president, in spite of a negative opinion on the matter by the Higher Council of Magistrates.

TENNIS Three Romanian players, Monica Niculescu, Irina Bara and Elena Gabriela Ruse, managed on Thursday to get into the final round of qualifications for the main group of the Roland Garros singles tournament. Monica Niculescu defeated Elitsa Kostova 6-0, 6-7, 6-3, and is to play next against the Russian Vera Zvonareva. Irina Bara beat Britains Harriet Dart 7-5, 6-2. In the last round she will take on the Dutch Richel Hogenkamp. In turn, Elena Gabriela Ruse beat American Francesca Di Lorenzo 6-2, 7-5, and will play against Barbara Haas of Austria. Five other Romanians are playing in the Roland Garros tournament – Simona Halep (seeded 1), Patricia Ţig, Irina Begu, Sorana Cîrstea and Ana Bogdan. (translated by A.M. Popescu, L. Simion)

24 September 2020
Number of COVID-19 cases expected to drop

Several elements made September a difficult month in terms of managing the COVID-19 epidemic in Romania. This is why the authorities are yet again talking about the importance of observing healthcare rules, which is the only way for the situation to improve in the coming weeks.

Health minister Nelu Tătaru: “This September has been a rather busy month, with the reopening of restaurants, theatre and cinema halls, people returning from their holidays, the crowded public transport, the start of the school year, the election campaign and the ballot on the 27th … For each of these activities, guidelines have been put together, in order to minimise the risks. Observing these rules means we stay on a plateau of around 1,500 new cases per day. If we manage to keep this level, we can imagine a downward trend in the second half of October. If we dont observe the rules, we may well see a rise in the number of cases from one day to the next. For the time being, we are staying in this scenario, we are in a second stage, the peak of the first pandemic wave.

Last week, for the first time since the pandemic started, Romania had more than 9,000 new cases in a week, with a record of 1,713 infections reported in 24 hours. The rate of positive results out of the total number of tests conducted was also on the rise, and the transmission rate is over 1. The number of deaths per day is relatively constant, and so is the number of patients in intensive care.

There are counties, such as Iași (north-east), with limited hospital capacity for COVID-19 patients. The manager of the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Iași, Carmen Dorobăţ, tells us why:

Carmen Dorobăţ: “There are patients who still test positive even after 2-3 weeks in hospital. Some of them wont go home because they do not feel safe, medically speaking, or because they are afraid they may infect their closest ones, or because they have nowhere to self-isolate.

According to official data, the number of Romanians that have had the disease since late February is close to 115,000. Of them, nearly 91,000 have recovered, and around 4,500 died. Elementary maths, confirmed by data on the worldometers.info website, tells us that there are roughly 20,000 COVID-19 patients in Romania at present. (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

22 September 2020