Covid-19 RO. Another 18 deaths in people infected with the new coronavirus were registered in Romania, the Strategic Communication Group announced today at noon. In total, 1,817 people diagnosed with COVID-19 have died. Also today, another 555 cases of infection were reported, bringing the total number of cases to 30,175. There are currently 237 patients in intensive care. Of the people confirmed positive, 22,284 have been discharged. 5,095 Romanians abroad have tested positive, and 122 have died. Specialists call for responsibility and say that the current evolution of the epidemic, with many outbreaks through community transmission, is due to the fact that prevention measures are not sufficiently observed.
Pandemic. The coronavirus pandemic has killed nearly 540,000 people worldwide since the disease broke out in China in late December, France Presse reports from official sources. About 11,700,000 cases of infection have been officially diagnosed in 196 countries and territories, of which over 6 million are considered cured. In the US, more than 60,000 new cases of infection were reported on Tuesday, a record for a period of 24 hours. The toll of the epidemic in the United States, the most affected in the world, has reached almost 3 million cases. Washington has confirmed that it has officially notified the UN of the USs withdrawal from the World Health Organization, which it accuses of reacting late to the pandemic. The United States is the largest contributor to the WHO. Several countries, such as Australia and Spain,are facing local pandemic outbreaks and have reintroduced containment measures. In Serbia, thousands of protesters clashed with police forces in the capital Belgrade after the government announced a weekend quarantine in the city in response to an increase in Covid-19 cases. The crowd stormed the Parliament building.
Economy. The European Commissions estimate of Romanias 6% economic drop in 2020 is too pessimistic, the Romanian Finance Minister Florin Cîţu has stated today. During a specialized conference, he recalled that, on Tuesday, the National Institute of Statistics confirmed the growth of the Romanian economy in the first quarter of the year by 2.7%. For next year, the EC estimates a 4% increase in Romanias GDP, compared to a 4.2% increase forecast in May. On the other hand, the inflation rate would be 2.5% this year and 2.8% next year. As for the EU economy, the EU executive has warned that in 2020 it will face a deep recession due to the pandemic caused by the coronavirus, despite the rapid and comprehensive political response at Union and national level. Also today, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has met in Brussels with European Parliament President David Sassoli and Council President Charles Michel to discuss the Unions economic recovery plan following the crisis caused by the Covid – 19 pandemic. Also participating are German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country holds the six-month presidency of the Council of the EU.
Elections. The Romanian Chamber of Deputies is debating and voting, today, as the decision-making body on this matter, the bill initiated by the opposition Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, by which September 27 is established as the date of the local elections. The bill was endorsed yesterday by the Senate, which added several amendments. Most are related to the organization of the election and have been approved by the Permanent Electoral Authority. Meanwhile, the PEA has made public the calendar and main stages of the election process. The election campaign is scheduled to begin on August 28 and end the day before the election. It is also envisaged to halve the minimum number of supporters required to submit applications. Local elections have been postponed for the fall because of the coronavirus pandemic. Parliamentary elections are also due in Romania this year.
Baccalaureate. In Romania, the special session of the baccalaureate exam continues , organized for the first time, against the background of the coronavirus pandemic. The first test, in Romanian Language and Literature, took place on Monday, today is the profile and specialization test and tomorrow is the day for the test in the mother tongue and literature. 141 students are being tested these days, as they could not sit for the baccalaureate exams at the same time as their colleagues due to health problems. The promotion rate registered at the June-July session of the national Baccalaureate exam after solving the appeals is 64.5 %.
Study. Romania has a quarter of the underage mothers in the European Union, ranking first among the members states in this regard. More than 8,600 girls became mothers before coming of age, two years ago, and 725 of them even before turning 15. A study conducted by the organization “Save Romanias children” shows that less than 2% of the underage mothers interacted with public social assistance services, half of them did not receive information about sex education, and almost two thirds had dropped out of school before getting pregnant. 10% of the fathers are underage themselves.
Football. The Bucharest teams FCSB and Dinamo are playing, this evening, the decisive match in the semifinals of the Romanian Football Cup. In the first leg, on Dinamos turf, FCSB won 3-0. Tomorrow, in the other semifinal, CSM Poli Iaşi (east) fill face Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe (center). Sepsi won 5-1 at home. The final of the Romanian Cup will be played on July 22, on neutral ground, in Ploieşti (south). The domestic championship resumed last month, after being interrupted in March due to the health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The leader is CSU Craiova (south), followed by the defending champion CFR Cluj (northwest) and FCSB. (M. Ignatescu)
