Radio România Internațional

Tag: cases

  • July 25, 2020 UPDATE

    July 25, 2020 UPDATE

    COVID-19 In Romania the Strategic Communication Group reported on Saturday a new record-high number of COVID-19 cases—1,284 out of over 22,500 tests. This is the 4th consecutive day with over 1,000 new COVID-19 cases per day. The total number of cases so far is 43,678, with over 25,300 patients having recovered and the death toll standing at 2,165. So far 1,087,783 tests have been processed in Romania. Abroad, 5,329 Romanian nationals have tested positive for coronavirus, and the number of deaths has reached 123. Passengers landing in Greece on flights from Romania and Bulgaria as of July 28 must present a negative COVID-19 test taken no earlier than 72 hours before the date of arrival, the Greek authorities decided. Romanias PM Ludovic Orban promised the authorities will use all lawful means available to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, but warned that this goal requires the contribution of all citizens, who are once again urged to observe protection measures. The health minister Nelu Tătaru announced Romania is to receive 600 doses of Remdesivir, used in treating COVID-19 patients. He explained this is only used as part of a clinical trial and will only be sent to the clinics included in the programme.



    PANDEMIC The total number of COVID-19 infections worldwide is quickly nearing 16 million, with 10 million patients recovered and more than 640,000 dead, according to Worldometers.info. A growing number of governments are now considering reintroducing restrictions, as the easing of containment measures in the past month has led to a worsening of the situation. On Friday the US reported over 70,000 new cases for the second day in a row as well as 1,000 deaths, Johns Hopkins University announced. The number of new cases rose in Europe as well. on Friday Italy announced 14-day quarantine requirements for people coming from Romania and Bugaria. France introduced compulsory testing for citizens coming from 16 non-EU countries with high COVID-19 infection rates, including the US and Algeria. As of Saturday, Czechs will have to wear face masks when attending indoor events with more than 100 participants.



    DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu had a telephone discussion on Friday with his Spanish counterpart Arancha Gonzalez Laya, regarding the excellent bilateral cooperation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2 officials reviewed the measures taken by both states to mitigate the effects of the crisis at healthcare, economic and social level. Minister Aurescu thanked Spain for its support during the pandemic in terms of the mobility of Romanian citizens to and from Spain. In turn, the Spanish official emphasised the excellent consular cooperation during this complicated period, and voiced hopes that this will carry on. Aurescu also spoke about the essential role of the Romanian community in key areas of the Spanish economy and thanked Spanish authorities for their support in integrating the Romanian citizens who work and live in Spain.



    NAVY The French command and support vessel “Var Saturday conducted joint drills with the Romanian Navy, as part of its stopover in the Black Sea port of Constanţa. According to the French Embassy in Romania, this mission, alongside other French Navy missions at the Black Sea, was designed to ensure maritime protection, to facilitate cooperation between partners and interoperability. The main mission of the 169-strong crew of the French offshore support vessel is to provide logistical support and materials for vessels during missions, including refuelling and water, food, ammunition, medicine and spare part restocking.



    WORKERS 11 Romanian nationals working on a farm in Borken, Germany, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced. According to the employer, around 120 Romanian citizens are currently working there. The patients are asymptomatic and have been isolated from the rest of the employees, with food and other necessary items provided to them. So far Romanias consular office in Bonn has not received any requests for consular assistance from the employees of the farm in question, but it stays in contact with local authorities and is ready to provide assistance if necessary.



    WEATHER Several bad weather alerts are in place this weekend in Romania. A code orange alert concerning the western half of the country is valid until Sunday morning, a code yellow alert is already in place in the west, south-west, north and in the mountains, while a second one will be effective as of Sunday morning. Heavy rainfalls, thunderstorms, strong wind and hail storms are expected. (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • July 24, 2020 UPDATE

    July 24, 2020 UPDATE

    Coronavirus Romania. Hospital beds and staffing are the main focus of concern for the Romanian authorities, amid a sharp increase in the number of new coronavirus cases. Romania is approaching 42,400 cases, with a new daily record of 1,119 new infections. Almost 6,000 people are in hospital with coronavirus, of whom 301 in intensive care. 24 new deaths were also reported, taking the death toll to 2,150. People must understand that this is a difficult moment, the health minister Nelu Tataru warned once again. In another move, the government approved yesterday new social protection measures for the staff of companies hit by the coronavirus crisis. The healthy employees of the companies closed down by the public health authorities will be on furlough by the end of the year. An official statement says financial support is needed to prevent job loss, more social exclusion and wider social and economic gaps between the people whose jobs were directly affected by the epidemic and the rest of the population.



    Coronavirus world. Coronavirus cases are on the rise around the world. More and more governments are considering reintroducing restrictions. At least 15.6 million cases have been confirmed globally, while the death toll passed 630,000. The United States, who recorded the first coronavirus death at the beginning of February, has 4 million cases, most of them in California, Texas and Florida. Europe has also seen a rise in the number of new cases. Spain is making efforts to isolate the outbreaks that have appeared since lockdown was lifted a month ago. New outbreaks have also been reported in Italy, in Lombardy and the Lazio area where Rome is located. On Friday, Italy announced introducing 14-day quarantine requirements for people coming from Romania and Bulgaria. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia have also seen new cases. The state of emergency in the Republic of Moldova was also extended until the end of August. The UK, with 45,000 deaths, Italy, with 35,000, France with 30,000 and Spain with 28,000 are the worst hit countries in Europe.



    Corruption. The former anti-corruption prosecutor Mircea Negulescu was arrested for thirty days on Thursday following a ruling to this effect by the Supreme Court. He was working for the Ploiesti branch of the National Anticorruption Directorate. Last year, Negulescu was expelled from magistracy as a disciplinary measure following a number of scandals linked to controversial cases. He is now accused of abuse of office, unfair repression and forgery for making up evidence in two cases, including the so-called Tony Blair case, in which the former Social Democratic prime minister Victor Ponta was accused of organising a visit by the former British prime minister to Romania to score electoral points in the 2012 elections.



    I3M The Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu and the US Ambassador to Bucharest Adrian Zuckerman Friday discussed preparations for the summit of the Three Seas Initiative (I3M), due this autumn in Tallinn. They also attended a conference call with officials for the I3M Investment Fund, which Aurescu described as a fundamental instrument for funding regional inter-connection projects. He also discussed the role of I3M in consolidating the strategic partnership between the EU and the US. Bogdan Aurescu said the US plan to earmark up to 1 billion USD for I3M projects is a major contribution to the development of the region and of the trans-Atlantic partnership in general. I3M is a flexible and informal political platform bringing together the 12 EU member states located between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Sea (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia).



    Border police. The border police was on the front line of the authorities’ efforts to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, said prime minister Ludovic Orban in a statement made on Friday on the anniversary of the Romanian Border Police Day. He added that the work of the border police, which he described as very complex and demanding, involves constant training, professionalism, courage, moral integrity and a huge sense of responsibility with respect to citizens and their country. Orban congratulated the border police for the exemplary way in which they mobilised to secure Romania’s land, sea, river and air borders in the context of the current health crisis, at the standards required of a EU member state and an aspiring Schengen area country.



    Helicopters. Ten Americal Black Hawk helicopters are arriving today in Romania at the military base in Mihail Kogălniceanu, in the south-east of the country, on a mission as part of the Atlantic Resolve operation. The aircraft are from the 101st Aviation Brigade, the US army’s most decorated unit of its kind. The Atlantic Resolve operation involves regular rotational deployment of US troops to Europe aimed at enhancing interoperability between NATO member states and improving links between allied and partner troops by means of cross-border training. (CM, AMP)

  • July 22, 2020 UPDATE

    July 22, 2020 UPDATE

    Coronavirus Romania. Romania reports a record 1,030 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours and 27 new deaths. The number of confirmed cases thus hits 40,100, while the death toll rises to 2,101. Almost 25,000 people have recovered. A law regulating the conditions for quarantine and isolation came into force on Tuesday, which, according to the health minister Nelu Tataru, lays down the instruments required in order to reduce the number of new cases. The minister warned however that the next two weeks will be difficult, with lots of active cases. As of Wednesday, the village of Cartojani in Giurgiu County in the south is under lockdown, after reporting 32 infections through community spread for a total population of 3,600. Local authorities say epidemiological risks are extremely severe, given that current protection measures are not observed. Another village in Prahova County, also in the south, is under a 2-week lockdown as well, while similar measures are being considered in several localities in Arges County.



    Coronavirus world. Global coronavirus infections near 15.1 million, while the death toll nears 620,000. In his coronavirus press briefing, which he resumed after many weeks of interruption, US president Donald Trump told Americans that the pandemic may get worse before it gets better and urged them to wear face coverings where they cannot maintain physical distance, something he had previously opposed. The US saw more than 600,000 new cases for the 8th day in a row. On Tuesday, the World Health Organisation said it would bring together scientists and experts from various fields as part of a project to combat disinformation, a relatively new threat to public health. In another move, a number of British researchers told the British Parliament that people would have to live with the pandemic for many years, believing it is unlikely for a possible vaccine to eliminate this coronavirus definitively.



    Industry President Klaus Iohannis and a governmental team headed by PM Ludovic Orban Wednesday discussed
    means to correlate the 2 national plans through which Romania will have access to
    nearly 80 billion euro under the European Union’s post-coronavirus economic
    recovery plan. Some of the money may be accessed this year, if the related national plan
    is prepared quickly, as the Cabinet intends, the President explained. Also on Wednesday, but in Craiova, in the south, Iohannis said that the automotive industry is vital for Romania and it
    still has a lot of growth potential. He visited the Ford production unit in
    Craiova, southern Romania, which has resumed its 3-shift working hours, and has
    a production volume comparable to the one before the pandemic. The management
    announced having initiated additional investments of 30 million USD for parts
    and components. The American carmaker has already invested over 1.5 billion
    euro in the plant in Craiova, which employs nearly 6,000 people. Another major
    carmaker operating in Romania is the French company Renault, producing the
    Dacia brand in Pitesti, in the south of the country, and employing over 17,700 workers.



    Deficit. Government deficit grew both in the eurozone and in the European Union in the first quarter of the year compared with the previous quarter, because of the lockdown to contain the spread of the pandemic, according to the latest figures published by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office. In the eurozone, the government deficit grew from 0.7% of GDP in the last quarter of last year to 2.2% in the first quarter of this year. Malta, with 8.5%, Romania, with 7.2%, and Belgium, with 6%, have the highest deficit levels in the European Union.



    Judiciary. The Romanian senators rejected a bill to dismantle the special department to investigate offences in the judiciary. The Save Romania Union, the party that initiated the bill, said the department is criticised by magistrates, European institutions and various organisations in the field, while the Social Democratic Party said it guarantees the independence of the judiciary. The Chamber of Deputies has already rejected the bill, but the Senate was the decision-making body in this case.


    (translated by: CM, Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • The state of the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania

    The state of the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania

    When the pandemic started, it took 3 months for it to reach one million cases, now we see this number reached in 8 days, the World Health Organisation warned. The number of COVID 19 infections worldwide exceeds 9 million, the death toll is in the hundreds of thousands, and infection rates reach new peaks at the same time in several large countries. Equally disturbing is the fact that new outbreaks are reported in countries where restrictions have been eased.



    This is the case with Romania, where healthcare minister Nelu Tătaru says the number of new cases has gone up, with substantial community spread. Four months after the first COVID 19 case was reported in Romania, the country reports over 24,000 cases and more than 1,500 deaths.



    For about 2 weeks, a daily infection rate of 200-300 cases has been reported. Nearly 6% of the tests run over the weekend, for example, turned out positive, a proportion not seen since early May.



    And a growing number of hospitals announce they can no longer receive patients. In order to free up space, the authorities have decided that coronavirus patients with few or no symptoms will be hospitalized for only 10 days, followed by a 14-day home isolation period under supervision by the family doctor. The announcement was made by minister Nelu Tătaru in an interview to a private TV channel:



    Nelu Tătaru: “On the 7th day we will run a test, and if it comes out negative the patient is discharged on the 10th day. If however the test is positive, but the patient has not had any symptoms for at least 3 days, that patient will also go home, and self-isolate for up to 14 days under the supervision of their family doctor. We cannot send an asymptomatic patient home on the first day, because we cannot be sure of how serious the disease will be in that person.



    The health minister also added that, in case the situation in the country worsens, the authorities consider introducing restrictions in certain areas.



    Meanwhile, on Monday 5 other countries were included in the list of so-called “green states, no longer subject to quarantine requirements for travelers coming into Romania. The 5 states are Finland, Italy, Estonia, Ireland and France. Flights to and from these countries may be resumed, the National Committee for Emergency Situations decided.



    As of June 15, quarantine requirements are also lifted for travelers coming into Romania from 17 countries: Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Croatia, Switzerland Germany, Greece, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary, with flights to and from these states resumed.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Number of new coronavirus infections on the rise

    Number of new coronavirus infections on the rise

    For the better part of last week, Romania saw over 300 new COVID-19 cases every day. The total number now passes 24,000, with the death toll standing at 1,500. Around 17,000 patients have recovered, which is a piece of good news.



    What causes concern among the healthcare and governmental authorities is the high rate of daily new cases, putting constant pressure on the medical system. The authorities say they have been considering a rise in the number of cases, but admit that the situation seems to get worse than expected before deciding to further lift restrictions on June 15.



    Experts blame the increase on some peoples failure to strictly observe hygiene and physical distancing rules. At present, beaches and outdoor restaurants are open, and religious services may be held within churches. The question is whether the rules are complied with, and inspections have shown that this is not always the case.



    The head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, announced that such inspections will be stepped up in the coming period. They will be targeting primarily hospitality units and public transportation, to check whether people are wearing face masks and keeping their distance.



    The healthcare minister Nelu Tătaru hopes that the large number of new infections reported lately will not lead to a new wave of the epidemic. He said all relaxation measures had been based on peoples cooperation and responsibility, and that he was counting on them in the future as well.



    Nelu Tătaru: “There are certain regulations, some restrictions, or precautions, so to say, that are still in place and must be observed. We resorted to a third stage of relaxation precisely relying on citizens civic responsibility and on the fact that these terms will be complied with. We hope this will prove to be just a sporadic and progressive increase, and not an exponential one, so as to be able to consider further relation as of July 1, and a quasi-normal summer holiday after mid-July or early August.



    The only normal development for the time being is the political game. Two months into the truce entailed by the state of emergency, the Liberals in power and the Social Democrats in opposition have virtually resumed their battle. The Social Democrats spokesman, Lucian Romaşcanu, accused the Government, among other things, of hiding the truth about the number of novel coronavirus infections. The number of people tested varies with the temporary interests of the Liberals, Romaşcanu added.



    PM Ludovic Orban dismissed the accusations and argued that there is no way the coronavirus infection data can be manipulated. He explained that the information from all testing labs are recorded and centralised in a public system.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • June 12, 2020

    June 12, 2020

    COVID-19 Another 222 cases of COVID-19 were reported today in Romania, up to a total of 21,404, with the death toll standing at 1,380. All deaths were related to patients with previous serious conditions, the Strategic Communication Group said on Friday. Over 15,445 patients have recovered, and 171 are currently in intensive care units. At least 3,300 Romanian nationals living abroad have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and 114 have died. The Government will decide next week to extend the state of alert which was originally scheduled to end on June 16, PM Ludovic Orban has announced. In the meantime, a number of containment measures will be lifted as of Monday, June 15. Shopping centres will be reopened, except for indoor playgrounds, cinema halls and restaurants. Outdoor pools, lottery and bookmakers shops will also reopen.



    ELECTIONS Romanias Senate Friday endorsed a bill extending the term in office of local elected officials. This is an emergency procedure, given that the current term in office ends on June 21st and local communities would be left without mayors. The bill was introduced on Thursday following an agreement between the Social Democrats, the Liberals and the Liberal Democrats, and extends the mandate of local officials to November 1. Under the law, the date of local elections must be set 60 days in advance, the minimum number of supporters for a candidate has been halved, and candidacy files may be submitted online. The bill is to be discussed by the Chamber of Deputies next week, for a final decision in this respect.



    THEATRE This years edition of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, which begins today, is held exclusively online. This years theme is “Empowered. For 10 days, 138 performances from 30 countries on 5 continents will be available free of charge on the Festivals home page, www.sibfest.ro, and on its Facebook page and YouTube channel. Adding to these are 12 special online conferences, an absolute first for the Sibiu Festival. According to the organisers, more than 250 hours of theatre, dance, music, contemporary circus, conferences, debates, play readings and childrens shows will be streamed free of charge until June 21st.



    INFLATION The annual inflation rate in Romania dropped to 2.3% in May, from 2.7% in April, with prices going up 25% for foodstuffs, 2.6% for services and 0.15% for non-foods, the National Statistics Institute reports. Consumer prices in May 2020 as against April 2020 rose by 0.05%. The finance minister Florin Cîţu recently estimated that this years inflation rate will fall below 2% this year, given the current downward trend. The National Bank of Romania also lowered its inflation forecast for the end of this year, from 3% to 2.8%.



    PANDEMIC The COVID-19 pandemic has killed at least 423,000 people worldwide since it first appeared in China in December, according to worldometers.info. A total of at least 7.5 million cases have been reported, with 3.8 million patients recovered. The US remains the worst hit country, with 116,000 deaths out of over 2 million cases, followed by the UK (41,000 deaths), Brazil (41,000 deaths), Italy (34,000), France (29,000) and Spain (27,000). The European Commission recommends the lifting of all travel restrictions within the EU and Schengen area as of June 15. Some EU member countries however, like Spain, decided to implement this measure at a later date. The Commission also considers a gradual opening of the EU external borders as of June 30, first of all to citizens from the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia), where the epidemiological situation is comparable with or even better than the one in the EU.



    FOOTBALL Romanias football championship, scheduled to be resumed tonight, was once again postponed, after the doctor for FC Botosani in League 1 tested positive for COVID 19. The national championship was suspended in March over the pandemic. The defending champions are CFR Cluj, followed by FCSB. On the other hand, further to Wednesdays drawing of lots, the Bucharest clubs Dinamo and FCSB will play one of the semi-finals of Romanias Cup, with the other semi-final pitting Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe against CSM Poli Iasi. The two semi-final legs will be played on June 24 and July 8, with the final scheduled on July 22.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • March 22, 2020 UPDATE 23

    March 22, 2020 UPDATE 23

    COVID-19 Romania As of Sunday night Bucharest introduced new restrictions to contain the spreading of COVID-19, including a 10p.m to 6a.m. curfew. People will be allowed to leave their homes at night only for work-related purposes, or to buy food or other essential items. The authorities urge people to also limit daytime outdoor activities as much as possible. Retail will be temporarily suspended, except for foodstuffs, veterinary products and pharmaceuticals. Dentists offices will also be closed, except for emergency interventions. Romania has also closed borders for foreign citizens and stateless persons, except for transit corridors agreed on with neighbouring states. Exceptions to this rule include foreign family members of Romanian citizens, family members of other EU citizens or citizens of the European Economic Area or the Swiss Confederation residing in Romania, people traveling for work-related purposes, diplomatic and consular personnel, staff of international organisations, military and humanitarian personnel, passengers transiting Romania or passengers travelling for strict medical or family-related emergencies, people in need of international protection or people traveling for humanitarian reasons.




    UPDATE Romania has reported three deaths caused by COVID-19 in the country. According to the Strategic Communication Group, so far 433 cases have been confirmed in Romania, with 64 of them recovered and discharged. The average age of the patients is 41. According to the Foreign Ministry, 8 Romanian citizens have died abroad because of the COVID-19, 7 in Italy and 1 in France.




    EU The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu will take part on Monday in an informal meeting of the EU foreign ministers, held via conference call. The agenda focuses on the international response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The EU officials will also discuss current affairs, such as the latest developments in Syria and Turkey.



    TRIBUTE The well-known Romanian anthropologist Vintilă Mihăilescu died, aged 68. In 1990, he established the Romanian Cultural Anthropology Society, and between 2005 and 2010 he was the director of the Romanian Peasant Museum. Vintilă Mihăilescu was a visiting professor in many universities and advanced research centres in Canada, France, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Bulgaria and Hungary. In 2006 the President of Romania made him a Knight of the National Order Faithful Service and in 2007 a Grand Officer of the Cultural Merit Order.




    COVID-19 world The president of Italy Sergio Mattarella sent a letter to his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, expressing hope that other countries will be able to learn from his countrys battle against the novel coronavirus pandemic, DPA reports. Mattarella also thanked Steinmeier for the solidarity and aid provided by Germany, which has sent healthcare products to Italy. Italy is the worst-hit country in Europe, with nearly 5,000 deaths reported by Sunday. Europe reported over 150,000 COVID-19 cases, more than 53,000 in Italy alone, according to a report worked out by AFP based on official sources. With at least 152,000 cases and 7,800 deaths, Europe is the most affected continent, ahead of Asia, where 97,000 people got sick and nearly 3,500 died. According to France Presse, the official number of cases is only part of the actual number of coronavirus infections, given that in many countries only hospitalised patients are being tested. Around the world, 320,000 COVID-19 cases have been reported since the epidemic started. The death toll reached 13,700 and 96,000 patients have recovered.




    WATER The UN calls for better use of water to help fight climate change. In a report issued on World Water Day, the organisation emphasised that better management of water resources may contain global warming. The UN says treating larger quantities of used water should be one of the priorities. Up to 90% of the used water is not treated at present, although it is an important source of methane, which is a greenhouse gas. The UN also asks for the protection and reconstruction of wetlands, which store twice as much carbon as forests, while also preventing floods and providing a habitat for wildlife. The report criticises the lack of cooperation between governments in the field of global warming and water management.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • March 20, 2020

    March 20, 2020

    COVID-19 Romania In about 10 days we will be able to predict the peak of the coronavirus epidemic in Romania, the health minister Victor Costache told a private TV station on Thursday night. He added that the authorities are unable to make this estimate at present because it depends on the number of Romanians returning from abroad. Costache explained that if the number of cases reaches 4,000, which is the maximum that the Romanian healthcare system can handle, the patients with mild forms of the disease will be treated at home. The authorities will announce new restrictions in the coming days, Victor Costache also said. Meanwhile, the government has announced tougher penalties for thwarting efforts to combat the epidemic and for false representations in relation to the COVID-19. The decision comes after fines and scores of criminal investigations have been initiated against people who disregarded self-isolation rules or lied about coming from red zones in order to avoid the quarantine. The new penalties go as far as to 15 years in prison. So far 308 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Romania, with 2 patients in critical condition.




    COVID-19 world The total death toll of the coronavirus pandemic has gone over 10,000 today, according to the latest data made public by the John Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering in the US. A total of 10,030 people out of 244,517 confirmed cases died from the novel coronavirus disease. Italy reports the largest number of deaths, over 3,400. Other countries with significant death figures include China, Iran, Spain, France, the US and Britain. Whereas China reports no new locally transmitted cases, and the new cases are citizens coming from abroad, in Europe the situation continues to worsen. The EU has closed its borders for foreign citizens and banned all non-essential travel in the Schengen area, to slow down the spreading of the disease. EU leaders will hold a new conference call on March 26 to discuss the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic. On the same day, the European Parliament intends to increase the aid package planned by the Union for the business environment. The European Central Bank has already announced 750 billion euros in emergency funds will be channelled into government and private debt, in an attempt to contain the economic effects of the pandemic. Estimates point to a possible 5% drop of the Eurozone GDP this year.




    RADIO Radio Romania News and Current affairs and all public radio stations in Europe broadcast the song Youll Never Walk Alone as a show of unity amid the COVID-19 pandemic. European broadcasters aired today the Gerry and The Pacemakers piece simultaneously, urging people to stay at home in order to help contain the pandemic. Known as an anthem of Liverpool football club, among others, the song You’ll Never Walk Alone was written in 1945 and has been covered by many artists over the years.




    PRAYER Catholics around the world Thursday night joined Pope Francis in prayer for an end to the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more people in Italy then in any other part of the world, Reuters reports. Italian bishops urged Catholics in the country to light candles in the windows and pray at home, as a sign of unity and solidarity. The initiative was announced early this week and was disseminated by social media around the world. The Pope is self-isolating at the Vatican. Last Sunday he walked on Romes empty streets to pray in 2 churches for an end to the pandemic. The Vatican announced that for the first time, the Easter mass will be held without public participation.




    FILM The Cannes Film Festival will most likely be postponed to June or July over COVID-19 concerns, the organisers have announced. The 73rd Cannes Festival was scheduled to take place between May 12 and 23. Hollywood will no longer make public box office figures, after theatres have been closed down in many countries, making last weekend the worst in 2 decades in this respect. Over the past few days the US, Canada, UK, Italy, France, South Korea closed down cinema halls due to restrictions concerning indoor events, while theatres in China, Hollywoods biggest foreign market, have been closed for weeks because of the pandemic.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • March 17, 2020

    March 17, 2020

    COVID-19 Romania President Klaus Iohannis is today chairing a meeting held by conference call with PM Ludovic Orban and the ministers involved in the management of the COVID-19 outbreak. Also today, Klaus Iohannis is taking part in a European Council conference call focusing on measures to manage the crisis. The head of the Romanian state Monday signed an order introducing a 30-day state of emergency in Romania. The document is to be voted on in Parliament on Thursday. According to official data, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Romania has reached 184, with 16 people already recovered. Around 3,300 people are in quarantine facilities and nearly 16,600 are self-isolating at home under medical supervision. Scores of criminal investigations have been initiated with respect to thwarting efforts to combat diseases. All asymptomatic persons entering Romania from countries with more than 500 infections, such as Spain, France, or Germany, will enter mandatory self-isolation at home for a period of 14 days. The measure applies to people entering by air and road. Safety measures have been strengthened, with all indoor cultural, scientific, artistic, religious, sports and entertainment activities involving more than 50 people now banned. Parliament has amended its regulations to the effect that in exceptional situations meetings and votes may be held by electronic means.



    COVID-19 World The number of deaths caused around the world by the new coronavirus has exceeded 7000, after Italy Monday announced 349 deaths in 24 hours. A total of over 175,000 cases have been reported so far in 145 countries. Italy, with 2,158 deaths out of 28,000 cases, is the second-worst hit country in the world, after China, which reported 3,213 deaths. France ordered a 15-day lockdown as of today. With over 9,000 cases, Spain has closed borders for non-residents and foreign workers. Hungary, too, has closed borders for foreigners. The European Commission may decide today to close the EU external borders and is considering a ban on non-essential travel. Several European countries have made the unilateral decision to close their borders, fully or partially. In many European countries, schools are closed down, public gatherings have been cancelled and business operations suspended. In the US, president Donald Trump announced strict quarantine measures and believes the epidemic may be followed by a recession. The World Health Organisation director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said governments must do more to fight the coronavirus pandemic. He also emphasised the importance of large-scale testing and screening.



    STOCK MARKET The Bucharest Stock Exchange opened on the rise for all trading indices on Tuesday. Both the BET, which covers the 16 most traded companies, and the BET-Plus, which reflects the stocks of the 37 most traded companies in the Bucharest Stock Exchange, had gone up nearly 1.8%. European stock markets also recovered slightly on Tuesday, after plummeting to a 2012 low on Monday over coronavirus concerns and fears of global recession. Also on Monday, the Wall Street saw the worst decline since the 1987 Black Monday, after president Donald Trump said the coronavirus pandemic may last for months and the American economy might head towards recession. Investors are worried that the authorities will not be able to take efficient measures to address the economic damage caused by the outbreak. Meanwhile, the Philippines stock market Tuesday shut down indefinitely, the first move of this kind in the world caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.



    RAILWAY The Romanian Railway Corporation suspended, as of today, some international passenger services, including to and from neighbouring Bulgaria, the Republic of Moldova and Hungary, because of the coronavirus pandemic. Passenger trains to Ruse, in Bulgaria, to Chisinau, in Moldova, and local cross-border railway transport on the Hungarian border have been suspended. Passengers may request fill refunds.



    2020 OLYMPICS The president of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach is today reviewing the situation of this summers scheduled Olympic Games, due to take place in Tokyo, Japan. In a conference call meeting with the chiefs of international federations, he may announce the postponement of the Games, over the coronavirus pandemic. Also today UEFA is to decide whether to postpone the 2020 European Championship, scheduled to take place in Romania and another 11 countries between June 12 and July 12. Bucharest is supposed to host 4 matches in the final tournament. Romania failed to qualify into the Euro 2020 preliminaries, but may still gain access to the competition if they win the Nations League playoffs scheduled this month. According to the initial calendar, on March 26 Romania should play against Iceland away from home, and if it wins it should play against the winner of the match pitting Hungary against Bulgaria, on March 31.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • March 3, 2020

    March 3, 2020

    HEARINGS The ministers nominated in PM designate Florin Cîţus cabinet are interviewed by the specialised parliamentary committees today, on Wednesday and Thursday, and the day of the investiture vote is to be chosen early next week. The only change compared to the Ludovic Orban Government is at the finance ministry, where former minister Cîţu has been replaced with Lucian Ovidiu Heiuş. The president of Save Romania Union, Dan Barna, says the Liberals have not asked explicitly for support for the new cabinet. The leader of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, Kelemen Hunor, says that no decision has been made yet as to endorsing the new government or not. Pro Romania MPs will attend the parliamentary sitting, but will vote against the cabinet, party leader Victor Ponta announced. The Social Democrats and ALDE were the only parties with which the PM designate has not discussed. The Peoples Movement Party decided to vote in favour of the Cîţu Cabinet. The latters nomination by president Klaus Iohannis came after the Constitutional Court found it unconstitutional for the president to designate the interim PM Ludovic Orban to form a new cabinet after being dismissed by Parliament through a no-confidence vote.



    COVID-19 In Romania, 42 people are in quarantine centres and over 9,400 are under home monitoring, the Strategic Communication Group announced on Tuesday. So far 3 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Romania, one of whom has recovered and the other 2 are hospitalised and in a good state. Meanwhile, the National Emergency Committee has introduced strict quarantine rules for the people returning home from risk areas. The new coronavirus is now spreading a lot more quickly outside China than in the source country. Around 91,000 cases have been confirmed in over 70 countries worldwide. Of these, 48,000 patients recovered and over 3,100 died. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank announced they are ready to provide help, including emergency funds, for member states to tackle the difficulties caused by the quickly spreading epidemic.



    VACCINATION The healthcare committee in the Chamber of Deputies unanimously voted the introduction of an amendment making immunisation mandatory. The Chamber of Deputies is to cast the decisive vote on the bill. Representatives of the Parents Alliance, of Pro Consumers Association and of the “Informed Decisions Association protested the current form of the bill, opposing the idea of compulsory vaccination. They believe each citizen must have the right to decide as concerns their own body. On the other hand, an association called Mothers for Mothers warns that vaccination saves lives and the body of scientific evidence in this respect goes back over a century.



    INTERIOR MINISTRY The interim interior minister Marcel Vela has today presented the institutions annual report, and said in 2019 the work load of interior ministry staff was higher than in the previous year. Marcel Vela explained that 27 counties and the capital city Bucharest reported over 4% rises in street crime and crimes against persons and property. “The presidential election was well organised, with 30% fewer incidents in the first round and 54.18% fewer incidents in the second round than in 2014, Marcel Vela added. The National Police Union organised a protest concurrently with the meeting at the ministry headquarters. They demand the implementation of current regulations regarding salaries, and the payment of overdue benefits for the last 3 years.



    UNEMPLOYMENT The January unemployment rate in Romania was 3.9%, down 0.1% since December, the National Statistics Institute announced in Tuesday. According to the institution, the estimated number of unemployed people in January was 350,000, which is lower than both the previous month and the corresponding month of 2019. Statistics also indicate that in the first month of the year the unemployment rate among men was 1% higher than among women.



    ISRAEL The Israeli PM Beniamin Netanyahu claimed victory in the 3rd election within a year, held on Monday. With 90% of the votes counted, Netanyahus right-wing party Likud secured 35 out of the 120 seats in Parliament, as against 32 for Kahol Lavan, led by his challenger Benny Gantz. None of them however has the required majority to form a government. Netanyahu tried to secure his re-election while facing a corruption trial. In his address, Netanyahu promised to put an end to the Iranian nuclear threat, to build peace with moderate Arab countries, economic reforms, a defence pact with the USA, and also spoke about his proposal to annex settlements in the West Bank.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • February 29, 2020

    February 29, 2020

    COVID19 Romania has 3 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, with the patients current state reported as good. Another 52 people are quarantined across the country, and 8,796 under home monitoring. The healthcare authorities in the counties Timiş in the west and Maramureş in the north-west are running investigations to establish the people who were in contact with the 2 persons who tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday. Both of them had travelled to Italy recently. The first patient in Romania, a 25 year old man from Gorj County, in the south, is feeling well, and Fridays tests came out negative, doctors say. If the next test is also negative, the patient will be discharged. In Europe, Italy remains the most affected country. As the epidemic spread, stock exchanges across the world reported total losses of over 5 trillion US dollars. The BBC says the US financial markets have not been hit so hard since the 2008 financial crisis. Investors fear that the growing number of coronavirus cases outside China may turn the disease into a pandemic.



    ARREST The former healthcare minister in the Social Democratic government Sorina Pintea, currently the manager of the Baia Mare Emergency Hospital in the north-west of the country, was detained on Saturday by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate for continuing bribe taking. According to the DNA, between December 2019 and February 28, this year, Pintea received 10,000 euros and 25,000 euros from a business operator, in 2 instalments, accounting for 7% of the value of a public procurement contract concerning the design and building of a cardiovascular and thoracic surgery unit. The contract was signed in 2019 by the hospital with the company in question. Pintea allegedly received the money in exchange for completing some of her duties as a manager and authorising officer, anti-corruption prosecutors say. They requested the Bucharest Court to approve a 30-day pre-trial arrest order against Pintea. Sorina Pintea was a healthcare minister in Viorica Dancilas left-wing government dismissed last October.



    DISEASE Romania has too few doctors able to diagnose rare diseases, experts warn today, the International Rare Disease Day. They say investments in medical equipment in the field of genetics, which are vital for accurate diagnoses, are scarce. Physicians also warn that rare disease patients and their families face severe challenges in terms of access to care. So far more than 6,000 different rare diseases have been identified, most of which are without treatment across the world. In Romania, such diseases are underdiagnosed.



    MIGRANTS Greece prevented 4,000 migrants to enter its territory “illegally from Turkey, a spokesman for the Greek government announced on Saturday after an emergency meeting chaired by PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis, AFP and Reuters report. On Friday, the country faced a mass, organised and illegal border crossing attempt, but it managed to overcome it, the government spokesperson explained. He added that Greece protected its borders and the borders of the EU. Also on Saturday, in an address in Istanbul, Turkeys president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country will open its borders to enable migrants to leave, and criticised the EU for not helping Ankara enough. Turkey says it was forced to ease border controls for the refugees trying to reach the EU from Turkey, because of the pressure of the refugees coming from Syria amid clashes in the rebel stronghold of Idlib.



    SLOVAKIA Slovakia is voting on Saturday for a new Parliament, hoping to fight corruption, frequently linked to the populist, left-of-centre ruling party Smer-SD. The vote may be crucial for the history of the country, which is still outraged by the murder of anti-corruption journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee in 2018, AFP reports. His killing, ordered by a businessman with political connections, mobilised the public, and polls suggest that the ruling party Smer-SD is running shoulder to shoulder with the centre-right opposition party OLaNO, which turned the fight against corruption into its rallying call. The double murder in 2018 triggered massive street protests against the government, and prime minister Robert Fico had to resign.



    RUSSIA Hundreds of Russian opposition supporters gathered in Moscow on Saturday to protest the constitutional reforms initiated by president Vladimir Putin and to pay tribute to opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, murdered 5 years ago near Kremlin, AFP reports. In Sankt-Petersburg, nearly 2,000 people rallied in the centre of the city. The authorised march is the first important public gathering since Putin announced a Constitution review set to strengthen the role of the president and of the State Council. The killing of Boris Nemtsov in February 2015 had huge echoes in Russia and abroad. Nemtsov was in the middle of an investigation into the involvement of the Russian Army in the east Ukraine war.



    HANDBALL Romanias womens handball champions, CSM Ramnicu Valcea, play today at home against the Swedish side Savehof, in the Champions League Main Group 2. In Main Group 1 in the same competition, vice-champions CSM Bucharest play away from home on Sunday against the French team Metz. The Romanian teams are ranking 4th in their respective groups and CSM is the only one having secured a place in the quarter-finals. In mens handball, champions Dinamo Bucharest take on Sporting Lisbon, on Sunday night, after a 26-25 win away from home. If they go past the Portuguese team, Dinamo move into the Champions League round of 16.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)