Radio România Internațional

Tag: fatalities

October 31, 2021 UPDATE

GOVERNMENT Romania’s Prime Minister designate, Liberal Nicolae Ciuca on
Sunday summoned the candidates for the position of ministers in his minority
PNL-UDMR cabinet for talks over the ruling programme before the Parliament
hearing scheduled for Tuesday. Most of the nominees have also served in the
cabinets headed by Liberals Ludovic Orban and Florin Citu. The Foreign Ministry
is headed by career diplomat Bogdan Aurescu, Lucian Bode is to take over the
Interior Ministry, Virgil Popescu is to become in charge of the Ministry of
Energy, Raluca Turcan will be heading the Labour Ministry, Sorin Campeanu, the
Ministry of Education and Tanczos Barna, the Environment Ministry. UDMR leader
Kelemen Hunor will be deputy Prime Minister. About Alina Gorghiu, who is expected
to take over the Justice Ministry, papers in Romania wrote that she tried to
promote a controversial draft law, which might have undermined the
anti-corruption fight as it allowed for prison sentences under 7 years to be
commuted to house arrest. The new cabinet is to be sworn in on Wednesday but
its rejection could pave the way for snap election, which would be a first for
Romania in the past 30 years of its post-communist democracy.

COVID-19 The latest data provided by the authorities monitoring the pandemic in
Romania show a decrease in the number of infections although the number of
fatalities remains higher. Over 74 hundred new cases have been confirmed in the
past 24 hours in Romania while 427 people have been killed by the virus.
Capital city Bucharest is reporting a decrease in the infection rate, which has
presently reached 14.35 per thousand from 15 reported a couple of weeks ago. 89
thousand people have been vaccinated in Romania in the past 24 hours and the
total number of those fully vaccinated has exceeded 6.2 million. The country’s
vaccine rollout has gained momentum and authorities believe that if maintained,
by the end of the year, Romania will have 70% of its population vaccinated.
Germany has dispatched a medical team to Romania to sort the patients who can
get treatment in German hospitals, where they can be flown by a plane belonging
to German Air Forces. In another development, the National Committee for
Emergency Situations in Romania has updated its list of the countries with a high
infection risk, placing the Netherlands and Russia in the red tier. Malaysia,
Cuba, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Germany, Switzerland,
Liechtenstein and Jordan are in the yellow tier.

DAY The Romanian public radio on Monday celebrates 93 years since
its first broadcast on November 1st 1928. Unlike in the previous
years, the anniversary takes place under the conditions imposed by the Covid-19
pandemic and an atmosphere of severe austerity. In 2017, the leftist government
led by PSD leader Liviu Dragnea, who subsequently served a prison sentence for
corruption, ruled to remove the so-called radio-TV fee paid by subscribers and
the two institutions be founded from the state budget. A social survey
conducted by the former interim administration shows that the institution
presently relies on unmotivated, aging personnel. 80% of the respondents have
been working in the public radio for at least 16 years. Little over 20 percent
of them believe the institution offers them opportunities for professional
development and about three quarters believe they aren’t paid properly in
accordance with the labour market in Romania.

CONFERENCE As of today, Glasgow in Scotland is hosting the he 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).
The event is expected to bring together over 120 heads of state and government
who are going to tackle the climate change, one of the world’s greatest
challenges at present. COP 26, which is expected to take place until November
12th plays an essential role in the implementation of the Paris
agreement with a view to limiting global warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Romania is being represented at COP 26 by its president Klaus Iohannis who is
expected to attend the World Leaders’ Summit over November 1st and 2nd.

TENNIS Romanian-Georgian pair made up of Irina Bara and Ekaterina
Gorgodze on Sunday won the doubles finals of the tennis tournament Transylvania
Open staged in Cluj-Napoca, north-western Romania. The two secured a 4-6, 6-1,
11-9 win against Alexandra Krunic of Serbia and Lesley Pattinam Kerkhove of the
Netherlands. Also on Sunday, Romanian tennis player Simona Halep lost to Anett
Kontaveit of Estonia 2-6, 3-6 in the finals of this competition.

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31 October 2021
October 18, 2021 UPDATE

GOVERNMENT The Standing Bureaus of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies decided that
the proposed members of PM designate Dacian Cioloş’ cabinet will be interviewed
on Tuesday by the relevant parliamentary committees. The vote on the
governmental team as a whole was scheduled for Wednesday. The Romanian prime minister
designate and leader of Save Romania Union (USR), Dacian Cioloş, Monday
submitted to Parliament the governing programme and the proposed membership of
his one-party cabinet, as validated on Sunday by USR. The new Cabinet includes
USR ministers from the former cabinet, as well as new names. Dacian Cioloş
chose the option of a minority, one-party government, after negotiations with
the former partners, the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Democratic Union
of Ethnic Hungarians (UDMR), failed to lead to the restoration of the
right-wing coalition. The programme includes decisions related to rebalancing
energy prices, handling the COVID pandemic and other specific issues, such as
the dismantling of the Special Section for the Investigation of Crimes in the
Judiciary and scrapping special pensions. The Cioloş Government needs 234 votes
in Parliament, and the USR has 80 MPs. The former Liberal government led by
Florin Cîţu was dismissed by a motion of no confidence filed by the
Social-Democratic opposition and supported by USR and the nationalist party AUR.

COVID-19 The Romanian interim Interior Minister, Lucian Bode, has announced that
26 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 have been transferred to Hungary. One of
them unfortunately died in the meantime. The Romanian official added that the
situation these days is rather critical. Meanwhile, 32 medical staff from the
neighbouring Republic of Moldova came to Romania on Monday and will treat
COVID-19 patients for 12 days, in a mobile hospital in the village of Leţcani,
Iaşi County. Authorities in Bucharest announced on Monday more than 10,000 new
SARS-CoV-2 infections and 261 deaths. More than 1,700 patients are currently in
intensive care. Regarding vaccination, in Romania, the number of people that
went through a full vaccination plan stands at roughly 5.7 million.

VACCINE It could take Romania more than 7 months to get 40% of its
population vaccinated against COVID, and 31 months to reach a 70% rate, at the
current vaccination pace, the World Health Organisation estimates. WHO
representatives talked with Romanian authorities on Monday to identify the
cause of the failure of the country’s vaccination programme. Romanian officials
informed the WHO experts of the steep rise in the number of severe cases and
COVID-19 related deaths, and added that 92% of the fatalities were reported
among the unvaccinated. Meanwhile, the WHO said the proportion of fully
vaccinated people is significant in Romania, indicating that once they start
the immunisation, Romanians go through with the required number of doses. The
WHO announced it would work with Bucharest to identify training and know-how
exchange opportunities with respect to vaccine safety and the development of a
communication strategy.

EU MEETINGS The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, participated on Monday in a
videoconference with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and
other European leaders, in preparation for the European Council meeting due on
October 21 – 22, the Presidential Administration has announced. The Romanian head of state emphasised the need to quickly identify
efficient short-term solutions, as the ongoing energy crisis will have
substantial effects on all EU member countries, with a deep social and economic
impact. Klaus Iohannisalso
stressed the importance of diversifying energy supply sources and of reducing
reliance on third countries for energy supplies. The main topics on the agenda
of this week’s European Council meeting are the epidemiological and vaccine
situation, the EU digital agenda, the increase in energy prices, migration, the
European trade policy and the Union’s foreign relations.

PANDEMIC Over one billion anti-COVID vaccines produced in
the EU have been exported to over 150 countries since December 2020, the
president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced on Monday. EU exports mainly went to
major economies like Japan, Turkey and the UK. Some of the vaccines were
exported or donated to poorer countries, and according to Ursula von der Leyen
the EU plans to increase donations in the coming months and to send at least
500 million doses to vulnerable countries. Meanwhile, the European Centre for
Disease Prevention warns of the high risk of death among the unvaccinated
population as we move forward in the autumn and winter, urging countries to
speed up efforts to convince those who have not been immunised.
Although at EU level the full vaccination rate is 74% of the adult population,
the gaps between states are still large, ranging between 22% and 91%, with the
lowest rates of vaccinated population reported for Bulgaria and Romania, and
the highest in Portugal and Ireland. Worldwide, so far, at least 241 million
cases of new coronavirus infection have been reported and more than 4.9 million
people have died, according to wordlmeters.info. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

18 October 2021
July 16, 2021

BLACK HAWK
Authorities in Romania and the United States have launched an investigation
into the recent incident involving a Black Hawk helicopter, which made a forced
landing in downtown Bucharest on Thursday. The crew had initially reported
technical issues during a training flight for the military ceremonies due on
July 20th and 21st to mark Romania’s Aviation Day and the end of the Romanian
contingent’s mission in Afghanistan. The helicopter crash-landed in a Bucharest
square bringing down two lampposts and damaging two vehicles.

EDUCATION Students from all over the world can enlist with the first
interactive online high school of an international profile in Romania due to
start activity in Cluj Napoca this autumn. Upon graduation, students are to receive
Cambridge-accredited diplomas. The aforementioned British-styled high-school is
going to function in a hybrid system. Students are going to attend online
courses and interact with each other in camps. The idea to set up such a school
came during the pandemic, when the organizers realized the importance of such
an institution in Romania. Cambridge-accredited diplomas are recognized in over
150 countries, Romania included, so students can easily opt for university
studies in numerous countries around the world.

WEATHER Almost 100 people have lost their lives while
hundreds are reported missing after the heavy rainfalls and flooding that have
recently affected Western Europe. In Germany, the most affected country, Chancellor
Angela Merkel has described the situation as a ‘tragedy’ and pledged full
support for the victims. Numerous towns and villages have been isolated and
roads have been completely covered by waters, which disrupted electricity in
more than 135 thousand households. Belgium has also reported fatalities and
many people unaccounted for. Extreme weather phenomena have also caused
material damage in the Netherlands where many people had to leave their homes.
Experts are blaming the latest weather phenomena on human-induced climate
change.

COVID-19 Authorities in Romania have included Spain, Portugal and the
Netherlands among the red-zone countries with a high infection risk, whereas
Greece, one of the most sought-after tourist destinations this summer is
presently in the yellow zone. Tourists who have been fully vaccinated do not
have to stay in quarantine upon their return to Romania irrespective of the
region they come from. Those unvaccinated coming from the red zone must stay in
quarantine for 14 days, whereas those coming from the yellow zone must produce
a negative PCR test made in the past 72 hours in order to avoid quarantine. The
National Committee for Emergency Situations has approved a pilot project
involving the use of trained dogs for detecting those infected. 62 new
infections were reported in Romania on Thursday, out of 25 thousand tests, as
well as three fatalities. 50 persons are being treated in ICUs. Since the
beginning of Romania’s vaccine rollout on December 27th last year, 4.7 million people
have been fully vaccinated in Romania, while authorities are trying to step up
the vaccination campaign in this country.

COMMISSIONER Romania must double its vaccination efforts this summer as only
30% of its adult population has been vaccinated says the European Commissioner
for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides who is paying a formal visit to
Romania on Friday. According to this EU official, the highly-contagious Delta
variant, which has been identified in Europe, represents a major risk for
people who haven’t got the jab. Vaccination is the most powerful weapon against
virus variants, the European Commissioner went on to say. According to a
communiqué issued by the European Commission Representation in Bucharest, EU
Commissioner Kyriakides will be meeting Health Minister Ioana Mihaila and pay a
visit to the vaccination center in Petresti, southern Romania. The talks will
be focusing on the EU’s vaccine strategy, Romania’s vaccine rollout as well as
the guidelines provided by the European Health Union.

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16 July 2021
Controversial reports regarding Covid 19-related fatalities

The conclusions of an investigation
into the different reports on the Covid-related deaths released by the two
information platforms the authorities rely on will be used to improve
procedures, so that such errors may no longer appear. The statement belongs to the incumbent Health
Minister Ioana Mihaila who went to Parliament on Monday to explain the
situation upon a request from the opposition PSD.

According to a report published
earlier, there was a 13% difference between the two platforms, which gives a
series of explanations concerning some technical or human errors. The Health
Ministry, which drew up the document considers the situation is justified to a
certain extent, partially acceptable and unavoidable and was caused by the
aggravated epidemiological situation at the end of 2020.

Another cause included in the document
is referring to hospital structures, which either failed to report all
Covid-related fatalities to the ministry or have included them among other
types of deaths. The document concludes that this sort of double reporting
entails confusion, additional efforts to validate the data as well as wasted resources.

According to the Ministry, heard by
Parliament on Monday, the difference between the two reports is due to human
error and misunderstood methodologies, which have been amended several times
since the beginning of the pandemic.

Minister Mihaila, who was not in
office at that time, has admitted the system’s failures pledging that measures
will be taken to ensure the reform. The official has blamed the error on a
committee appointed in a previous mandate pledging that sanctions are to be
slapped shortly on those responsible.

We are not on a witch hunt, but we
have the right information to take the measures required, Minister Mihaila went
on to say. The Social Democratic MPs were not satisfied with the answers
provided pointing to the centre-to-right government’s lack of professionalism
in handling the pandemic.

MP Alexandru Rafila says that constantly
doubting the figures concerning the tests conducted, the number of patients,
the vaccinated persons and the fatalities registered through contradictory
statements and distorted figures provided by the authorities has enraged the
population. He recollected that the PSD
has called for the setting up of a Parliament Committee able to investigate
this unprecedented situation to hear the representatives of the institutions in
charge and publish the conclusion. However, the Parliament majority has vetoed
the project.

The ruling alliance’s way to handle
the pandemic has also attracted heat from another opposition party AUR and during
the debates the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic
Hungarians in Romania have called for unequivocal data release. The ruling
USR-PLUS has underlined that the people’s trust in the measures taken by the
authorities hinges on the restoration of truth concerning the pandemic-related
data. Prime Minister Florin Citu last week explained that such errors were
present in all EU countries.

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18 May 2021
October 28, 2020

COVID-19 According to the Strategic Communication Group, in the
past 24 hours Romania has seen an all-time high of Covid-19 infections, 5343,
out of the 36,815 tests conducted nationwide. The number of fatalities is also at
an all time high, 107, bringing the death toll to 6,681. Since the onset of the
pandemic Romania has confirmed 222,559 infections, whereas 159,855 people have
been declared cured. 861 patients are being treated in IC units, 41 more than
in the previous day. The highest rate of infection has been reported in Cluj,
western Romania, the capital city, Bucharest, and in Alba county, also in the
west. 6,851 Romanian nationals have been confirmed infected abroad, most of
them in countries like Germany, Italy and Spain. The death toll of the
Romanians abroad stays at 126.

ELECTION Over 70 million Americans have
already cast ballots in the US presidential election, more than half the total
turnout of the 2016 election with one week to go until Election Day, says a
Tuesday tally from the U.S. Elections Project also cited by Reuters. This
massive turnout is indicative of the growing interest in the contest between
Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden as well
as the voters’ desire to reduce their risk of exposure to COVID-19. According
to the US Elections Project, the final turnout might reach a record turnout of
about 150 million, representing 65% of those eligible to vote, the highest rate
since 1908. We recall that the US election system which is unique in the world
and was created more than 200 years ago has been adjusted to the needs of a
present population of 300 million being a combination of direct and indirect
voting. Voters in the USA can vote in three different ways. They can opt for
postal voting or go to the polls earlier or right on the election day. They don’t
vote directly for the president but for a representative of that candidate’s party known as an
elector. There are 538 electors who then vote for the president on behalf of
the people in their state and a majority of 270 of these votes is needed to win
the presidency. This year the US election is due on November 3rd.

AMBASADORS Six people are being heard
today by the specialized commissions in the Romanian Senate and the Chamber of
Deputies to be appointed Romania’s ambassadors abroad in Morocco, Mauritania,
North Macedonia, Iran, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Uzbekistan and Albania. On October
the 7th and 19th, the parliament commissions heard and
endorsed another 16 candidates proposed to become Romania’s ambassadors abroad.

VISIT Romanian Prime
Minister Ludovic Orban last night ended his formal visit to Paris with a
meeting of the Romanian community in France. In another development, during a
meeting with representatives of the MEDEF, France’s largest employers’
association, the Romanian officials urged the business people in France to
invest in Romania, in key fields such as healthcare, transport and energy
infrastructure, research and telecommunication. Orban and his French
counterpart Jean Castex had earlier signed an upgraded roadmap for the
bilateral strategic partnership for the following four years. The Romanian
official also met Richard Ferrand, the head of the National Assembley and
Gerard Larcher, president of the French Senate.

FOOTBALL Romania’s
football champions CFR Cluj on Thursday will be playing on their own turf Swiss
side Young Boys in their second match counting for Europa League group A. In
their first game the Romanians secured a 2-0 win against Bulgarian side CSKA
Sofia in a group which also includes AS Rome who defeated Young Boys 2-1 in an
away game.

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28 October 2020
October 8, 2020

PANDEMIC According to worldometers.info,
36 million people have so far tested positive for the novel Covid-19 virus
while one million people died worldwide. The United States seems to be the most
affected country with 7.7 million infections and over 216 thousand deaths.
India has reported over 6.8 million cases and over 105 thousand fatalities. In
Italy, authorities have also called on the military to get involved in checking
the observance of safety rules; the state of emergency in this country has been
extended to another three months and people must wear masks everywhere. Italy
is seeing a rising number of Covid infections, which has reached 37 hundred new
cases with 31 fatalities reported. France has also reported roughly 19 thousand
infections in the past 24 hours.

FOOTBALL Romania’s national football side tonight plays Iceland in an away game counting
towards the semis of the qualification playoffs for the European Championship
next year. If they qualify, on November 12th, the Romanians will be
up against the winner of the match pitching Hungary against Bulgaria. Romania
tops the 1B group of the Nations League after a one-all draw against Northern
Ireland and a 3-2 win against Austria. The group also includes Norway, which
the Romanians will be playing on Sunday in an away game. On Friday, Romania’s
under 21 side plays Ukraine in a match counting towards the Euro Under 21
preliminaries. Denmark tops the table with 19 points followed by Romania with
16.

COVID – 19 In the past 24 hours Romania has reported a record
number in Covid infections, 3130 cases with a death toll of 44, in a single
day. Intensive care units have reported 607 patients. Since the beginning of
the pandemic in late February over 145 thousand Romanians have been infected
with the novel coronavirus out of which over 113 thousand have been cured and
over 52 hundred died. At present roughly 83 hundred confirmed Covid patients
are being treated in hospitals and over 20 thousand are in home isolation. Authorities
have made fresh appeals for the observance of prevention and safety measures.
In Bucharest and in other areas where the infection rate has exceeded 1.5 cases
per thousand certain activities have been suspended. Restaurants have been
closed down and some indoor activities have ceased. People must wear mask close
to schools and other education facilities.

TALKS Two Romanian ministers are in the USA for talks with
the local authorities. Romania’s defence minister Nicolae Ciuca will be having
talks with the US secretary of Defence Mark Esper about the latest developments
in the Black Sea region as well as the need for coherent and consistent defence
and deterrence measures in the NATO eastern flank. The Romanian Minister of the
Economy, Energy and Business Environment, Virgil Popescu will be meeting the US
Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette for talks on the development of the energy
dimension of the strategic partnership between Bucharest and Washington and a
higher US involvement in Romania’s energy sector.

(bill)

8 October 2020