Radio România Internațional

Tag: infection

  • November 19, 2021

    November 19, 2021

    GOVERNMENT The Social
    Democrats and the Liberals are resuming negotiations today on the structure and
    governing programme of the cabinet they intend to form jointly with the
    Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians.Yesterday the 2 parties agreed to have a cabinet in
    place by next Thursday. The National Liberal Party once again nominated the
    interim defence minister Nicolae Ciucă for the PM post. In turn, the Social
    Democrats nominated their president Marcel Ciolacu. He said the order in the
    prime-minister rotation is yet to be decided, but the party that will have the
    first PM designate will allow the other party to appoint the finance minister.


    COVID-19 In the past 24 hours Romania saw 2,889 new COVID-19
    cases and 281 related fatalities, 27 of
    them from an earlier date. Intensive care units across the country
    remain overcrowded, in spite of the drop in infection rates. In the capital city Bucharest the rate reached 4.34 per
    thousand, as against the 16.54 per thousand peak reported on October 22. According
    to official data nearly 89,000 people received COVID vaccines on Thursday, of
    whom around 24,000 got the first dose. As of recently Romania has more than 7
    million fully vaccinated citizens.


    TRAVEL The National
    Committee on Emergency Situations updated the list of countries and territories
    by COVID-19 incidence rates. Germany, Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria and the UK are now red-list countries,
    while France, Portugal, Monaco, Chile, Lebanon and Guyana were included in the
    medium-risk category. The updated list comes into force on November 21, at
    midnight.


    TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Horia Tecău announced on
    Thursday the end of his professional career at the age of 36. He has won 38
    doubles tournaments, including the Wimbledon and the US Open, together with
    Jean-Julien Rojer (Netherlands), and played another 24 finals. He also won the
    silver in the Rio Olympics in 2016, teaming up with Florin Mergea (Romania), and
    a mixed doubles final at the Australian Open, with Bethanie Mattek-Sands (US).
    Horia Tecău’s last match will be for the Romanian team in the Davis Cup match
    against Peru, at the end of November. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • November 17, 2021 UPDATE

    November 17, 2021 UPDATE

    Covid-19. Over 3,500 new Covid cases were recorded in the last 24
    hours in Romania, as well as 350 related fatalities, including 51 from an
    earlier date. The incidence rate over the last fortnight is on the decrease,
    with the infection rate dropping to 5.03 cases per 1,000 inhabitants in
    Bucharest, as against 5.34 the previous day. The highest figure was reported on
    22 October (16.54 per thousand). The indicator is still over 6 per thousand in
    44 cities in the country. As of Wednesday Romania has over 7 million fully
    vaccinated citizens.


    Inflation. The EU year-on-year inflation rose to 4.4% in October, as
    against 3.6% in September. The highest rates were reported in Lithuania (8.2%),
    Estonia (6.8%), Hungary (6.6%) and Romania (6.5%), Eurostat announced on
    Wednesday. Disruptions in energy supply and the growing costs in the sector slow
    down the growth of the Eurozone economy and will keep inflation up for longer
    than predicted, the head of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde warned
    on Monday.


    Corruption. Two nurses, 2 clerks and another person in no official capacity were detained under suspicion of
    bribe-taking, computer fraud and forgery in an investigation involving forged
    COVID-19 vaccination certificates. Some 3,000 false certificates have been
    issued in recent months in Vama Petea, north-western Romania, in exchange for 250
    to 300 euros each. Early this month the Interior Ministry announced over 360 criminal
    cases are pending, with nearly 900 individuals facing fraud charges in similar
    circumstances. In related news, the ex-Senator and transport minister Dan Şova
    was sentenced on Wednesday to 4 years behind bars for influence peddling. The
    sentence can be appealed.





    Migrants.
    Poland’s defence minister Mariusz Blaszczak warned on Wednesday that the
    ongoing crisis on the Belarus border ‘may last for months or even years’, and added
    that migrants once again tried to push across the border on Tuesday night.
    Several police workers were injured in the clashes with the migrants crowding
    at the border between the 2 countries in the past few weeks. Poland, which
    strengthened border security, is blaming the crisis on Belarus, but Minsk
    dismisses the accusations. Against this background, the EU announced it is
    considering a joint military force of up to 5,000 troops, to intervene in a
    number of crises without needing to rely on the US. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Pression continue sur les hôpitaux

    Pression continue sur les hôpitaux

    La pandémie de SARS-CoV-2 a mis une pression énorme sur les hôpitaux roumains ; par conséquent, les professionnels de la santé sont souvent submergés par le grand nombre de patients dont ils doivent s’occuper. La situation la plus grave est à retrouver dans les unités de soins intensifs, où les malades atteints de formes graves sont entre la vie et la mort. Certains d’entre eux ont été contraints d’attendre la libération d’une place, car il y avait des jours où aucun lit n’était disponible pour les patients atteints de COVID-19. Cet automne, la quatrième vague de la pandémie a frappé la Roumanie, où il y a eu le plus grand nombre d’infections et de décès associés au nouveau coronavirus dEurope. Les salles d’urgence étaient pleines de malades qui attendaient dans les couloirs pour se voir attribuer une place dans une salon.



    Les mesures restrictives prises par les autorités commencent à porter leurs fruits, ce qui fait que l’épidémie de coronavirus poursuit sa tendance à la baisse. Toutefois, bien que le nombre de nouvelles infections soit deux fois moins élevé qu’il y a une semaine, les hôpitaux regorgent de patients infectés au COVID. Beatrice Mahler, directrice de l’Institut Marius Nasta de Bucarest, a attiré l’attention sur les conséquences à long terme de la maladie.



    « Malheureusement, il y a beaucoup de patients qui ont besoin d’aide après s’être rétablis du COVID et ici nous avons deux catégories de patients : certains d’entre eux qui ont été hospitalisés et qui restent avec des séquelles et ont, en raison de leur affectation pulmonaire, un besoin important de récupération respiratoire, de traitement post-COVID, d’oxygène supplémentaire. Et une autre catégorie de patients, et, malheureusement, ils sont assez nombreux, qui sont restés à la maison pendant les 14 jours et, parce que leur évolution n’est pas favorable, viennent à l’hôpital avec d’importantes lésions pulmonaires. »



    Béatrice Mahler considère qu’« une population informée est une population responsable qui a besoin de centres de test gratuits — diagnostic, vaccination et information ». Les médecins soulignent que la vaccination doit rester la méthode la plus importante pour prévenir la contamination. Les données du Comité national de coordination de la vaccination indiquent que seulement 23 % de ceux qui habitent en milieu rural ont reçu le vaccin anti-COVID, en milieu urbain – 38 % et dans les grandes villes – plus de 40 %.



    Par ailleurs, l’Union européenne reconnaît depuis mardi les certificats de vaccination anti-COVID-19 délivrés par les autorités moldaves, serbes, géorgiennes et néo-zélandaises. Pour leur part, les quatre pays accepteront le pass sanitaire européen pour les voyages en provenance de l’espace communautaire. Le commissaire européen à l’Elargissement, Olivér Várhelyi, a précisé qu’à l’heure actuelle, 49 pays et territoires des cinq continents sont connectés au système de certificat numérique COVID de l’Union européenne. « Tout comme nous avons été aux côtés de nos partenaires dans la lutte contre la pandémie, nous continuons à travailler ensemble pour nous ouvrir en toute sécurité », a déclaré Olivér Várhelyi.


    (Trad. : Ligia)


  • Back to school!

    Back to school!

    Nearly two-thirds out of the over 3 million students
    and pre-schoolers in Romania are returning to schools on Monday, after a 2-week
    break triggered by the COVID 19 pandemic.


    Face-to-face teaching is resumed in schools where at
    least 60% of the employees are vaccinated against the virus, while the other
    schools carry on classes online. The Students’ Council says schools are not
    ready to resume on-site classes, and call on the authorities to also take into
    account the local infection rates, the healthcare infrastructure, the testing
    capacity and the means to ensure physical distancing.


    The coordinator of Romania’s vaccination campaign, Valeriu
    Gheorghiţă, admits that the measure would prompt a rise in infection risks, but
    argues that children need face-to-face classes and adults should make an effort
    to ensure that children are safe in schools.


    Valeriu Gheorghiţă: I believe it is a duty for us, for the adults, to
    make sure our kids are safe in schools. How can we do that? By complying with
    health and hygiene rules, by explaining these rules to the kids, by getting the
    vaccine. I believe this is the way for us to gradually become able to control
    and contain the effects and consequences of this pandemic. Yes, resuming
    on-site classes definitely entails additional risks in terms of the number of
    infection cases, but what we must keep in mind is a balance between the
    epidemiological status and the benefits and losses for our children during this
    period.


    In turn, the interim education minister Sorin Cîmpeanu
    says that although controversial, the new conditions for reopening schools have
    been effective and encouraged teaching staff to get the vaccine:


    Sorin Cîmpeanu: The reports for Friday, 29th October, indicated
    that 54% of public and private schools had a vaccination rate of over 60% and
    may resume face-to-face classes. By Friday, 5th November when we
    updated all data for all the schools in Romania, there was an increase from 54%
    to 68%, so the measure worked. Several inspection teams from the Education
    Ministry will conduct on-site checks to see the extent to which protection
    rules are implemented, and also to check the accuracy of the reported
    vaccination rates. This is a compromise solution, it has its flaws, but at the
    end of the day this criterion ensures a safer environment for students and
    teachers, it protects teachers the most, because according to physicians vaccinated
    people don’t get infected and don’t pass on the virus as easily as the non-vaccinated.


    To make up for the lost time during this school break,
    the Education Ministry amended the structure of this school year and shortened
    the winter holiday for middle schools and high schools. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Growing interest in vaccination

    Growing interest in vaccination

    A major contribution to the
    steadily high rate of vaccination in Romania in recent days has been that of
    vaccination marathons. One of them, organised this past weekend in Bucharest-the
    city with the highest vaccination rate, but also the largest number of daily
    new cases-ran in 6 centres located in all sectors of the capital. And the
    figures at the end of each day significantly surpassed the rate reported as
    late, when growing numbers of people were already showing up in vaccination
    centres, fearing the large numbers of deaths, infections and patients in
    hospitals.




    The proportion of
    citizens over 18 who have got the vaccine in Romania has reached 40%, the head
    of the national vaccination programme Valeriu Gheorghiță announced, and added
    that similar events will be held in the forthcoming period so as to make sure
    that 70% of the population has been vaccinated by year-end:




    Valeriu Gheorghiță: Every weekend we will hold
    a vaccination marathon in Bucharest, after we have identified a vaccination
    centre with extended working hours. This gives us reason to hope that by the
    end of the year we will reach that immunisation threshold through vaccination. I
    am using this opportunity to invite all medical schools in the country and all
    the county Public Health Directorates to organise such events in all major
    cities. Over the past few days we have gradually opened new vaccination units,
    and we hope that in the forthcoming period we will get to more than 150,000 or
    even 200,000 doses administered every day.




    During the 3 days of the vaccination marathon in Bucharest, people proved
    to be open to vaccination when we opened towards them. Such events need to be
    replicated in smaller towns as well, said the interim health minister Cseke
    Attila.




    Meanwhile, on Monday
    and Tuesday another vaccination marathon was organised in 6 military hospitals
    that are also regional storage centres for anti-COVID vaccines. Keeping the centres in Constanța, Cluj-Napoca, Iași,
    Craiova, Brașov and Timișoara open around the clock is one of the means by
    which the National Defence Ministry chose to celebrate Army Day this year.




    Experts and authorities
    around the world reiterate that vaccination is the only way to put an end to
    the pandemic. Meanwhile, in Brussels, the European Commission put together a portfolio
    of 10 most efficient treatments against COVID-19. Organised into 3 categories-antiviral monoclonal
    antibodies, which are most effective
    in the earliest stages of infection, oral antivirals for
    use as quickly as possible after the infection,
    and immunomodulators
    to treat hospitalised patients-these products will be available across the EU
    as soon as the European Medicines Agency has confirmed their efficacy. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Romanian physicians plead for vaccination

    Romanian physicians plead for vaccination

    We
    are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the surge in COVID-19 infections,
    both among the general public and among healthcare staff. The past few days
    have showed us a healthcare system stretched to its limits, especially in the
    units treating COVID-19 patients, reads an appeal signed by the Bucharest
    Physicians College, urging people to get the vaccine and comply with protection
    measures.


    The
    call comes at a time when Romania is struggling in the grips of the 4th
    wave of the pandemic, with a highly contagious Delta variant and with only
    around 30% of its population vaccinated-the second-lowest level in the EU. Romania
    is also substantially below the worldwide vaccination rate of 45%, although it
    has enough doses of Pfizer, Moderna, Astra Zeneca and Johnson&Johnson
    vaccines, received through EU support mechanisms.


    In
    fact, some of these vaccine doses have been resold or donated to other
    countries or even disposed of, because they had reached their expiration date. Meanwhile,
    hundreds of people die every day, hospitals are overcrowded, and intensive care
    units are fully occupied.


    We
    witness tragedies every day: patients who die, families suffering, physicians too
    exhausted to stay standing, patients and healthcare staff infected with SARS-CoV-2
    in need of medical care. And their number is very large. Faced with this
    dramatic picture, we believe the low vaccination rate among people is, perhaps,
    a failure in terms of the confidence that the public should have in the medical
    personnel, the appeal of the physicians in Bucharest also reads.


    They
    also reiterate that science and evidence-based medicine state, as reference
    international healthcare institutions confirm, that vaccination is one of the
    major instruments for the efficient management of the COVID-19 pandemic.


    The
    document also states that, while indeed vaccinated people may catch the disease
    or have severe forms of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the proportion of such cases is a
    lot smaller than among unvaccinated patients. In fact, the example of countries
    with high vaccination rates is taletelling in this respect.


    Every
    day we talk to fellow doctors who tell us they have no solutions. Young patients
    die, children get to intensive care units, people with and without
    co-morbidities lose this battle. We are at a crossroads, and I believe only
    though a joint effort will we be able to curb this trend. Science tells us
    today that vaccination and compliance with protection measures enable us to
    fight this pandemic more efficiently, reads the document signed by physician
    Cătălina Poiană, Ph.D., president of the Bucharest Physicians College. (tr.
    A.M. Popescu)

  • 05/10/2021

    05/10/2021

    Motion de censure — Le gouvernement minoritaire PNL – UDMR dirigé par le libéral Florin Cîţu a été destitué ce mardi par motion de censure. La motion avait été déposée par l’opposition sociale-démocrate et votée par l’USR (de centre-droit), ancien partenaire cadet dans le gouvernement de coalition de M Cîţu, et par l’opposition nationaliste de l’AUR. 281 élus se sont prononcés pour le départ du gouvernement Cîţu, alors que le seuil pour que la motion soit votée — et le gouvernement, destitué – était de 234 sénateurs et députés. Avant le vote, le premier ministre et leader du PNL a annoncé que les parlementaires libéraux participeraient aux débats, mais qu’ils ne voteraient pas. Détails après le journal.



    Mécanisme de protection civile — Record de malades de Covid-19 en Roumanie depuis le début de la pandémie. Les pouvoirs publics dont rapporté, mardi, plus de 15 000 nouveaux cas, après plus de 77 000 tests. En 24 h, les autorités ont rapporté 252 décès parmi des malades infectés au nouveau coronavirus. Au moins 14 400 malades de Covid sont actuellement hospitalisés. 1 480 patients sont en réanimation, dont 22 enfants. A Bucarest, le taux d’incidence a dépassé les 10 par mille habitants. L’incidence des cas de Covid sur 14 jours est de 3 ou supérieure à 3 cas par mille habitants dans 190 villes et 990 communes de Roumanie. La Roumanie a décidé d’activer ce mardi le Mécanisme de protection civile de l’UE afin d’acquérir le médicament Tocilizumab, utilisé pour soigner les cas de Covid-19. Le chef de la Division pour les situations d’urgence, Raed Arafat, a expliqué que la décision avait été prise vu que dans deux-trois semaines, les hôpitaux de Roumanie pourraient avoir des problèmes avec les stocks de Tocilizumab. Il a précisé que la possibilité de demander certains équipements, notamment des oxygénateurs individuels, était à l’étude. Par ailleurs, l’Agence européenne des médicaments a approuvé lundi l’administration de la 3e dose de vaccin Pfizer/BioNTech pour les personnes de plus de 18 ans, précisant que la protection contre le Covid-19 pourrait baisser, avec le temps, après les deux premières doses. L’Agence a également approuvé l’usage de doses complémentaires de vaccins Moderna et Pfizer pour les personnes immunodéprimées. En Roumanie, la 3e dose a commencé à être administrée la semaine dernière. Nous reviendrons à ce propos.



    Conseil et sommet — Le président de la Roumanie, Klaus Iohannis, participe, à partir d’aujourd’hui, à Brdo, en Slovénie, à la réunion informelle du Conseil européen et au Sommet Union européenne — Balkans occidentaux. Selon l’Administration présidentielle de Bucarest, le rôle de l’UE au niveau mondial constitue le principal thème du Conseil européen. A l’agenda : la situation en Afghanistan, l’accord de sécurité entre les Etats-Unis, le Royaume-Uni et l’Australie ainsi que les relations avec la Chine. Au Sommet Union européenne — Balkans occidentaux, les discussions porteront sur des aspects liés à la réaffirmation de la perspective européenne pour les pays de la région, et la coopération avec ces derniers pour gérer les effets de la pandémie au niveau social et économique. Egalement au menu — la consolidation du dialogue et de la coopération dans les domaines politique et sécuritaire.



    Salaires — Les Roumains ont gagné en moyenne un salaire brut de 5 100 lei (environ 1 030 euros), enregistré par l’économie nationale en 2020, annonce l’Institut national de la statistique. Ainsi, une hausse de 7,4 % est constatée par rapport à l’année précédente. En ce qui concerne le salaire net, il a été de 3 217 lei (environ 650 euros), en progression de 7,7 %. Les secteurs d’activité les plus lucratifs, où les gains dépassent la moyenne de l’économie nationale, sont l’informatique et les communications, les courtages financiers et les assurances, l’Administration publique ou encore la fourniture d’électricité. A l’opposé on retrouve l’hôtellerie-restauration, l’agriculture, la sylviculture, la pêche et les transactions immobilières.



    Météo — Temps plutôt beau en Roumanie aujourd’hui, et même chaud dans l’ouest, le nord-ouest et le centre. Le ciel est variable. Le vent est faible à modéré, plus intense sur les sommets des Carpates méridionales, où les rafales peuvent dépasse les 60 — 70 km/h, et sur le sud-ouest, avec plus de 50 km/h. Les températures vont de 15 à 26°, avec 20° à Bucarest sous le soleil.


  • Covid-19: negative records

    Covid-19: negative records

    The coronavirus epidemic breaks new negative records in Romania. On Thursday, over 12,000 new cases were reported in the country, only 2 days after a previous record-high level. 176 COVID-related fatalities were also reported, most of them among unvaccinated patients.



    The number of hospital admissions is on the rise as well. Over 12,000 patients were in hospitals on Thursday, 5,000 more than a week ago. The situation in intensive care units is complicated, because there are few places left.



    The National Committee for Emergency Situations updated the list of high risk countries, which now includes Romania as well as Moldova, Bulgaria, Armenia, Belarus and Greenland. However, the Committee decided that drivers of freight and passenger vehicles are not bound to isolate if they test negative for the virus.



    Meanwhile, the recent developments gave fresh impetus to the vaccination programme in Romania. In several counties, this week saw people queuing in vaccination centres, especially since people were able to get their third vaccine doses as of this Tuesday.



    “We must all make an effort, if we are to control this pandemic, and the only way in which we can do this is to get vaccinated. Four types of vaccine are available in Romania, they are safe, efficient, easy to tolerate, the vaccination process is easy, accessibility is high, the coordinator of the national vaccination campaign, Valeriu Gheorghiță, pointed out.



    Gheorghiță emphasised recently that the benefits are huge, and the losses hard to quantify at the moment, but at this point the research shows that the long-term impact is significant. “More and more voices say we will have to get used to living with this virus. My view is that we mustnt get used to living under these circumstances, with hospitals filled with patients and ICUs overcrowded and people losing their lives every day to this disease,ˮ Valeriu Gheorghiță said.



    To encourage the vaccination campaign, the authorities are now organising a Vaccination Lottery. The Health Ministry announced that any fully vaccinated person may take part, and that the total prizes amount to some 3 million euro. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • La Roumanie face aux records négatifs de la pandémie

    La Roumanie face aux records négatifs de la pandémie

    La Roumanie enchaine les records négatifs en matière de lutte contre la pandémie de COVID 19. Jeudi, plus de 12 000 nouveaux cas d’infection au coronavirus ont été rapportés au niveau national, soit le plus grand nombre depuis le début de la pandémie. Le précédent record négatif avait été enregistré mardi. 176 décès des suites de l’infection au virus SARS CoV 2 ont également été rapportés, presqu’exclusivement parmi des personnes non-vaccinées. Le nombre de malades qui arrivent à l’hôpital ne cesse d’augmenter d’un jour à l’autre. De ce fait, les hôpitaux roumains soignent actuellement 12 000 patients, soit 5 000 de plus qu’il y a une semaine. La situation en réanimation, soins intensifs est également compliquée, parce que déjà, il y a peu de places disponibles.

    Le Comité national des situations d’urgence a mis à neuf la liste des Etats et territoires à risque épidémiologique élevé. La Roumanie aux côtés de la République de Moldova, la Bulgarie, l’Arménie, le Belarus et le Groenland est entrée en zone rouge. Parallèlement, le Comité a décidé d’excepter à la quarantaine les chauffeurs de poids lourd et de car s’ils présentent le résultat négatif d’un test de dépistage de la covid RT – PCR.

    Par ailleurs, l’évolution de la pandémie a donné une nouvelle impulsion à la campagne de vaccination déroulée en Roumanie. Dans plusieurs départements du pays, des files d’attente s’étaient formées devant les centres de vaccination, vu que mardi la Roumanie a commencé à administrer la troisième dose de vaccin contre la Covid 19. « Nous devons faire tous un effort pour contrôler cette pandémie et l’unique solution est la vaccination. Nous disposons en Roumanie de quatre types de vaccins autorisés, des vaccins surs, efficaces, faciles à tolérer, le processus de vaccination est simple et l’accessibilité est accrue », a précisé à nouveau le coordinateur de la campagne nationale de vaccination, Valeriu Gheorghita. Il a récemment souligné le fait que les bénéfices du vaccin étaient immenses et les pertes provoquées par la pandémie, difficiles à estimer et à calculer à l’heure actuelle. Enfin, ce qui est sûr c’est que selon les études, l’impact à long terme de cette situation est considérable. « On entend souvent le fait qu’il faut nous habituer à vivre avec ce virus. Je peux dire qu’en aucun cas, il ne faut pas nous habituer à vivre dans ces conditions de pandémie, avec des hôpitaux quotidiennement pris d’assaut par des malades de covid, avec des sections de réanimation – soins intensifs pleines et avec des personnes qui meurent chaque jour à cause de cette maladie. » a prévenu Valeriu Gheorghita.

    Par ailleurs, afin de stimuler la campagne de vaccination, les autorités sont arrivées à organiser même une loterie de la vaccination. Y participent les personnes entièrement vaccinées qui détiennent un certificat numérique vert Covid 19. Jusqu’ici les vaccinés comptent pour moins de 30% de la population. Le schéma complet signifie deux doses de vaccin Pfizer, Moderna et Astra Zeneca et une seule dose de vaccin Johnson&Johnson. Le premier tirage au sort aura lieu dimanche et la valeur totale des prix à gagner s’élève à 3 millions d’euros.

  • Hospitals struggle with 4th wave of Covid pandemic

    Hospitals struggle with 4th wave of Covid pandemic

    Romanian hospitals are struggling with
    the growing number of severe Covid 19 cases. The 4th wave of the
    epidemic started over a month ago, but over the past 2 weeks the number of
    daily cases has been skyrocketing.


    The number of patients in hospitals is increasing at an alarming rate,
    and the battle for a place in intensive care is resumed. Physicians say that
    half of the current SARS-CoV-2 patients are much younger than with previous variants,
    and they come to hospitals much later when the disease is already too difficult
    to fight.


    According to the doctors, hospitals’ intensive care units are the first
    to fill, followed by the ones in the regular wards, which is an unprecedented
    situation. At present, Romania has little over 1,300 beds in intensive care for
    COVID-19, most of them already filled. In order to cope with the inflow of
    patients, hospitals are reorganising and are reassigning the beds reserved for
    non-Covid patients.


    In Arad, for instance, County Hospital manager Florina Ionescu says ICU
    places available in other wards will be reassigned to COVID patients:


    Florina Ionescu If all ICU places are filled in our COVID unit, we have the
    option of extending the unit by another 20 beds from the Paediatrics Unit, which
    is in the same building as the infectious disease unit. These beds are equipped
    with oxygen breathing equipment which has been recently upgraded and checked.


    The COVID 19 pandemic has a devastating impact on those who have not got
    the disease, but are suffering from other serious conditions and are not going to
    hospital for fear of getting infected. Hundreds of towns and villages are now
    reporting infection rates of over 3 per thousand, and scores of them, including
    the capital Bucharest, see infection rates of over 6 per thousand.


    According to official statistics, Romania has among the largest numbers
    of infections and fatalities in the EU.PM Florin Cîţu is
    confident that the healthcare system will be able to handle this 4th
    wave of the pandemic, and says the authorities intend to turn several
    hospitals, including in Bucharest, into exclusively COVID units.

    There are
    solutions that we will be using, but at the same time there is no doubt that we
    also need long-term solutions, and this means investments, Florin Cîţu said
    recently. In Wednesday’s government meeting, the Cabinet decided that the
    Health Ministry will receive some 77 million euros to buy the medicines
    required for treating COVID-19 patients. Another 14 million euros will be spent
    to improve ICU standards. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Explosion du nombre de nouveaux cas de Covid-19

    Explosion du nombre de nouveaux cas de Covid-19

    La Roumanie a rapporté mardi une progression pour le moins inquiétante du nombre de nouveaux cas de contamination au coronavirus. Plus de 11 000 tests de dépistage se sont avérés positifs de lundi à mardi, soit un record absolu depuis le début de la pandémie. Le nombre des décès rapportés quotidiennement a également explosé pour dépasser les 200, alors que celui des malades hospitalisés a dépassé les 11 400, soit double par rapport à la situation d’il y a deux semaines. Le virus ne fait que se propager rapidement et la situation au niveau national est dramatique : des centaines de villes et de communes ont des taux d’infection de plus de 3 cas par mille habitants en 14 jours. Enfin, la capitale, Bucarest, comptabilise le plus grand nombre de nouveaux cas de contamination.

    Le vice-président de la Chambre des députés, le médecin Alexandru Rafila, est d’avis que la situation actuelle, lorsque les hôpitaux sont pleins de malades, dont la plupart non vaccinés, est causée aussi par le relâchement des restrictions durant l’été ainsi que par le très faible taux d’immunisation de la population. « La couverture vaccinale est très basse et c’est pourquoi la vaste majorité des malades de Covid hospitalisés et en réanimation sont des personnes non vaccinées, qui sont d’ailleurs majoritaires en Roumanie, où elles comptent pour 70 % de la population. Et ce n’est qu’un élément. Le deuxième aspect dont nous n’avons rien appris a été le relâchement total des restrictions jusqu’au 10 septembre. »

    Pour sa part, le coordinateur de la Campagne nationale de vaccination contre la Covid, Valeriu Gheorghiţă, a averti que le système médical roumain risquait le blocage total si le nombre de nouveaux cas d’infection ne cesse de progresser. « Le variant Delta qui domine aujourd’hui se répand si vite et si facilement que presque toutes les personnes qui n’ont aucune immunité, aucune protection, ni après une infection, ni après la vaccination, qui habitent des agglomérations urbaines, là où la densité de la population est élevée, ont un risque très élevé de s’infecter sous peu. Et de ce point de vue, nous avons des centaines de milliers de personnes qui n’ont aucune protection et pour nous il est important que ces personnes ne se contaminent pas à brève échéance, parce que cela mènera évidemment au blocage du système médical », a expliqué le coordinateur de la campagne nationale de vaccination contre la Covid, Valeriu Gheorghiţă.

    Il a ajouté que la couverture vaccinale au niveau national était d’environ 33 % parmi la population éligible résidente âgée de plus de 12 ans. En fait, un tiers de la population roumaine est actuellement vaccinée avec au moins une dose, la plupart sont des personnes vaccinées au schéma complet, a déclaré Valeriu Gheorghiţă. Selon lui, la couverture vaccinale à Bucarest dépasse actuellement les 51 % et 40 sur les 41 départements ont des couvertures vaccinales supérieures à 20 %.

  • September 25, 2021 UPDATE

    September 25, 2021 UPDATE

    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 14,000 people having
    received a shot in the last 24 hours.


    LIBERALS
    The Liberals’s president for the next 4 years is PM Florin Cîţu, who won the
    race against the former party chief Ludovic Orban. The winner got some 60% of
    the votes of the around 5,000 delegates
    from all party branches in the country attending the Congress held Saturday in
    Bucharest. The National Liberal Party is a united party as of today, Florin
    Cîţu said after the results were made official. I promise I will be the
    president of all Liberals, regardless of your vote today, he added. Ludovic
    Orban congratulated Florin Cîţu for his victory, and said on Monday he would
    step down as speaker of the Chamber of Deputies. President Klaus Iohannis was also present at the
    congress. The two ran harsh campaigns, with unprecedented
    attacks against each other. At stake is more than the party presidency, and Saturday’s
    battle will also decide the governing formula and the parliamentary majority.


    FRIGATE The Romanian frigate
    Queen Marie has concluded its participation in the NATO Operation Sea
    Guardian, in the Mediterranean. 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.


    AIRCRAFT The Canadian military aircraft sent to Romania in
    early September have carried out their first intercept in an air policing mission,
    NATO announced. The pilots of the 188 Hornets, jointly with Romanian Air Forces
    units, intercepted on September 23 two Russian Sukhoi 24 Fencers over the Black
    Sea near Romanian air space. The Russian aircraft were monitored by the Allied
    pilots once the visual identification was confirmed, the Allied Air Command
    also announced.



    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)

  • September 25, 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)

  • September 23, 2021 UPDATE

    September 23, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 The COVID-19 epidemic stays on an upward
    trend in Romania. Thursday was the second consecutive day with more than 7,000 new
    cases in 24 hours (7,095 new cases out of nearly 54,000 tests). The largest
    number of infections is reported in the capital Bucharest. The number of Covid
    patients in intensive care is now over 1,000, a situation last seen in early
    May in Romania, and the number of coronavirus-related deaths was 113. Over
    300 towns and villages in the country are now on the red list of places where
    the infection rate is over 3 per thousand. Meanwhile, the total number of vaccine doses
    administered to Romanians went over 10 million on Thursday.


    MEASURES The COVID digital certificate remains a requirement for
    access to indoor events in places with infection rates of over 3 per thousand, and
    it will be compulsory for children over 12, instead of over 6 as originally
    stipulated. Another measure allows businesses to stay open after 6pm, in places
    with infection rates between 3 and 6 per thousand. A night curfew will be in
    place over weekends wherever the infection rate is over 6 per thousand, and
    throughout the week in places with infection rates above 7.5 per thousand. PM
    Florin Cîţu also announced today that vaccinated people will be allowed to
    leave their homes without a sworn statement in places under curfew or lockdown.
    Meanwhile, an emergency order on the COVID
    digital certificate has been endorsed by the Senate and is next to be discussed
    in the Chamber of Deputies. The digital certificate was created at EU level to
    facilitate free travel during the pandemic. The document, which includes a QR
    code, certifies that the holder has been vaccinated, recovered from the disease
    or tested negative for COVID.


    AMBASSADOR
    Romania has been a candidate for accession to the Visa Waiver programme for
    almost 15 years, said the new Romanian ambassador to Washington, Andrei Muraru,
    who mentioned that there are only three EU member states whose citizens need a
    short-stay visa on US territory. According to Andrei Muraru, the visa rejection
    rate is currently at a fairly high level, around 10%, but he pointed out that
    Romanian and US authorities are working to bring it down to the maximum 3% allowed
    for the Visa Waiver. The Romanian ambassador to the US also said that an
    information campaign will be organized in Bucharest for citizens to find out
    how they can apply for a visa, why their applications are turned down and why
    they should not apply if they do not meet the criteria set by the American
    side.


    NAVY The
    Romanian Navy’s Vice-admiral Constantin Bălescu Minelayer will take part in
    the EUNAVFOR MED operation Irini, in the Mediterranean Sea, between
    the 1st of October and the end of this year. Romanian marines will
    ensure compliance with the arms embargo enforced by the UN on Libya. The
    mission also targets illegal trafficking in oil products, drugs and people, by
    monitoring sea traffic and inspections of suspicious vessels in the
    Mediterranean. A combat diver unit is on board, and the 85 crew members have
    been tested, vaccinated against COVID-19 and isolated in Romanian Navy
    facilities prior to the operation.


    INSURANCE The government passed an emergency order enabling drivers who need to
    have their cars repaired under an insurance policy issued by City Insurance to
    receive their claims more quickly under the Insurance Guarantee Fund. They will
    no longer have to wait for a court to declare the company bankrupt. When its
    license was cancelled, City Insurance had 3 million civil liability policies
    issued to car owners. The Prosecutor General’s Office Thursday had documents
    seized from the company headquarters, as part of a criminal investigation
    following a complaint filed by the Financial Supervising Authority.


    INFRINGEMENT The European Commission Thursday sent Romania and Poland letters of
    formal notice for not correctly incorporating certain aspects of the Offshore
    Safety Directive into their legal systems. These letters of formal notice are
    actually the official start of the infringement procedure. Romania and Poland
    have two months to address the shortcomings, otherwise the Commission may decide to
    send a reasoned opinion. Also on Thursday, the
    Commission took measures against 19 member states, Romania included, for
    failing to take the necessary steps to ensure their citizens benefit from the
    EU audio-visual mass media and telecoms legislation. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • September 22, 2021

    September 22, 2021

    INVESTIGATION
    Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors are looking into the procurement of
    anti-Covid vaccines, amid suspicions of abuse of office and obtaining undue
    benefits. Nobody is officially under charges as yet. The incumbent finance
    minister Dan Vîlceanu says he has no information regarding the procurement of
    anti-Covid vaccine outside the mechanism created by the European Commission and
    for prices negotiated at EU level. The former health minister Vlad Voiculescu
    claims however that based on the decision of PM Florin Cîțu, Romania ordered
    too many doses and was subsequently forced to sell or donate some of them. W






    COVID-19 7,045 new COVID-19 cases out of 54,000
    tests were reported in Romania on Wednesday. This is the highest daily figure
    this year. Also, 130 Covid patients died in the past 24 hours, and over 1,000
    people are in intensive care. The capital city Bucharest and 3 counties in
    Romania are in the red zone after reporting infection rates of over 3 per
    thousand. In places with infection rates between 3 and 6 per thousand,
    participation in indoor events is conditional on the green certificate. The
    Romanian Physicians College calls on citizens to understand the impact and
    consequences that the novel coronavirus infection may have, and urges the
    authorities to find fair and immediately applicable solutions to contain the
    disease. The college also warned that a high infection rate means increased
    pressure on hospitals, and supports the opinion of scientists around the world
    who say vaccination is one of the most efficient and readily accessible
    instruments to fight this pandemic.






    UN
    While in New York, the president of Romania Klaus Iohannis addressed
    the heads of state and government of the over 100 countries attending the annual
    meeting of the UN General Assembly. In his speech, the Romanian official
    emphasized the importance of an international order based on rules. Klaus
    Iohannis is also scheduled to take part in a global summit aimed at
    coordinating the international response to the pandemic, organized by the US
    president Joe Biden, and in a meeting with representatives of Jewish
    organisations in the US.


    GOVERNMENT The Romanian government may pass today a
    programme entitled Caring for children. The short-term goal of the programme
    is to ensure psychological and emotional protection for children during the
    pandemic and post-pandemic period, and the long-term goal is related to a
    mechanism to protect children from physical, sexual and emotional violence both
    within families, society and online. The Cabinet is also discussing today the
    reorganisation of the Prime Minister’s control corps.






    INSURANCE At the request of the City Insurance
    shareholders, Romanian prosecutors will investigate the management of this
    insurance company. The shareholders filed a criminal complaint with the
    Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism, and accuse the City
    Insurance employees in Romania of forming an organised crime group, fraud and
    embezzlement. Other criminal complaints, filed by the Financial Supervising
    Authority right before requesting the bankruptcy of City Insurance, may lead to
    investigations by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate. Meanwhile, the
    Government may pass today an emergency order stepping up the payment of car
    insurance claims before the company is declared bankrupt.






    DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan
    Aurescu is hosting today in New York the 10th ministerial conference
    of the Community of Democracies, on the side-lines of the UN General Assembly.
    The conference brings together foreign ministers and other top-level officials
    of CoD member states and civil society representatives, to discuss the current
    challenges and opportunities facing democracy. The event is titled Democracy
    and resilience: shared goals.ˮ






    FESTIVAL The 25th George Enescu International Music Festival
    continues in Romania. This edition brought together a total of 3,500 Romanian and foreign musicians, performing in
    Bucharest, Sibiu, Iaşi, Timişoara and Constanţa. Radio Romania is a co-producer
    of the festival, alongside the Romanian Television Corporation. (tr. A.M. Popescu)