Radio România Internațional

Tag: infections

January 27, 2023

ECONOMY
Romania reports a record-high GDP increase for last year, from EUR 240 bln in 2021 to nearly
EUR 290 bln, according to the National Strategy and
Forecast Commission. For this year, however, the institution estimates a
slow-down of the economic growth from 4.9% in 2022 to 2.8%. The inflation rate
is also expected to drop significantly by the end of this year, from 16.4% in
2022 to 8%, and consumption growth is also predicted to drop to 2.4%, compared
to 4.6% last year. The figures in the winter forecast, made public on Thursday,
are not different from the ones in the autumn report, released in October.

HEALTHCARE The number of respiratory infections in Romania dropped last
week by almost one-quarter compared to the previous week, to 103,000 cases, the
National Public Health Institute announced. The number is nonetheless 21%
higher than the average weekly rate in 2015-2020. According to statistics,
nearly 5,000 of them were flu cases. Since the start of the cold season, 36
people died from the flu, and nearly 1.5 million people got anti-flu vaccines.

DIPLOMACY The Romanian
foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu had a bilateral meeting in Sibiu today with his
Dutch counterpart, Wopke Bastiaan Hoekstra. The talks focused on Romania’s
Schengen accession and the ongoing efforts to further this important goal. Bogdan Aurescu reiterated that Romania’s accession will help strengthen
the security of the EU as a whole and will give credibility to the Union. In
turn, ministrer Hoekstra reiterated the Netherlands’ active support for this
process. Wopke Hoekstra also reconfirmed the Netherlands’ commitment to
consolidating NATO’s deterrence and defence posture on the
eastern flank, in the context of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, by
contributing troops to the NATO Battle Group in Romania. The 2 officials also
discussed the Romanian-Dutch bilateral relations. The meeting took place in the
context of the Dutch official’s visit to Romania for trilateral political
consultations in Bucharest, together with the French diplomacy chief Catherine
Colonna. Ahead of the talks, the 3 ministers made a joint visit to the French
and Dutch troops stationed at the Cincu military base as part of the NATO Battle
Group in Romania. In
Bucharest, Catherine Colonna will be received by president Klaus Iohannis and
PM Nicolae Ciucă.

COMMEMORATION
The International Holocaust Remembrance Day, or the International Day in Memory
of the Victims of the Holocaust, is marked every year on January 27, under a
resolution endorsed by the United Nations in 2005. In 1945, on January 27, Allied forces liberated
the largest Nazi extermination camp, in Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland. According
to historians, the Holocaust resulted in the killing of 6 million Jewish people
in Europe and millions of other ethnics by Germany’s Nazi regime. Events and activities are organised on
this day every year at the UN headquarters in New York and UN offices around the world.
This year’s theme is Home and Belonging. In 2022, the UN General Assembly
adopted a resolution tabled by Israel, calling on all countries to condemn Holocaust
denial and anti-Semitism, especially on social networks.

TENNIS Gabriela Ruse (Romania) / Marta
Kostiuk (Ukraine) today lost to the defending champions, Barbora Krejcikova and
Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic) 6-2, 6-2, in the doubles semi-finals of the
Australian Open. This is the best performance for Ruse and Kostiuk in a Grand Slam
event. Krejcikova and Siniakova hold a combined 6 Grand Slam doubles titles, 3
of them last year alone, when they only missed the Roland Garros. In the final,
the Czech players take on Shuko Aoyama/Ena Shibahara, of Japan, at their first
presence in a Grand Slam final after defeating Coco Gauff/Jessica Pegula (US). (AMP)

27 January 2023
January 23, 2023 UPDATE

MEETING The
head of the Romanian diplomacy, Bogdan Aurescu, on Monday participated in a
meeting of his EU counterparts held in Brussels. High on the agenda were talks
on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which also involved the participation
of Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba through a videoconference, as well
as the latest developments in Sahel and other countries in West Africa. The EU
officials also tackled the latest developments in Iran, Montenegro, Afghanistan
and Venezuela as well as the launch of the EU mission in Armenia, which has an
observation and monitoring mandate along the border with Azerbaijan. Aurescu
referred to the need for carrying on the EU multi-dimensional support for
Ukraine enabling it to cope with the cold season and a possible onslaught by
the Russian troops. He mentioned that Romania supports the consolidation of the
sanctions-regime against Russia by endorsing a 10th package of restrictive
measures as well as the continuation of the assistance programmes for the third
countries affected by the war. On the sidelines of the event, the Romanian
official held talks with his counterparts from Italy, Belgium, Germany and the
Netherlands. High on the agenda was Romania’s accession to Schengen.

TENNIS Romanian – Ukrainian pair made up of Gabriela Ruse and Marta Kostyuk has
qualified for the quarters of the women’s doubles at Australian Open, the
year’s first Grand Slam tournament after a two-set win 6-3, 6-4, against the
Czech pair Miriam Kolodziejova/Marketa Vondrousova. The two will be next playing
Storm Hunter of Australia and Elise Mertens of Belgium who have eliminated
Monica Niculescu of Romania and Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland.

COVID-19 The number of Covid-19
infections Romania registered last week dropped as compared to the previous
week. The Ministry of Health has reported almost three thousand infections, 500
less than between January 9th and 15th. Almost 900 people
have been admitted to hospitals, out of whom 111 are presently being treated in
ICUs. 38 related fatalities have also been reported all in patients with
comorbidities. The number of flu infections is on the rise though.

(bill)

23 January 2023
January 12, 2023 UPDATE

SCHENGEN Romania’s Schengen accession is a
major priority for the country, the Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu said
in Bucharest on Thursday. He mentioned the country counted on the support of the
Swedish presidency of the EU. At a press conference organised by the Swedish
Embassy to mark the start of the Swedish presidency of the EU Council on
January 1, Mr. Aurescu also mentioned Romania’s handling of the situation
entailed by war in Ukraine, describing Romania as a de facto guardian of EU
security. In turn, Sweden’s Ambassador to Bucharest, Therese Hyden, pointed
out that the Schengen file will be on the agenda of an official meeting, when
conditions are favourable, more precisely when Austria has changed its
position regarding Romania and Netherlands has changed its view on Bulgaria’s
accession. Foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu also had a telephone conversation on the
same topic on Wednesday with his Swedish counterpart, Tobias Billstrom. According
to the Romanian foreign ministry, Tobias Billstrom emphasised that the Swedish
Presidency was determined to be actively involved and to make all efforts for
this goal to be met. We remind you that on December 8,
2022, at the JHA Council, Romania was not accepted into Schengen after Austria
voted against Romania’s joining the passport-free area, and the Netherlands
opposed Bulgaria’s accession.

MINORITIES Romania and Ukraine will
initiate a consultation process regarding Ukraine’s law on national minorities,
endorsed recently in Kyiv. The two countries’ foreign ministers, Bogdan Aurescu and
Dmytro Kuleba, Wednesday had a telephone discussion on the topic, after a
similar dialogue a week ago between the presidents Klaus Iohannis and Volodymyr
Zelensky. The law triggered concerns among the Romanian authorities, as
representatives of the Romanian community in Ukraine have not been consulted in
drafting the document, which was endorsed without a positive opinion of the Venice
Commission. Although the law is an improvement from the previous drafts, it
fails to guarantee, among other things, the Romanian minority’s right to
education in the mother tongue, the Romanian foreign ministry argues.

FLU 15 people died from seasonal flu complications this season in
Romania, the National Public Health Institute announced. During the first week
of this year almost 40% more respiratory infections than in the previous week
were reported. Drugstores still face shortages of viral infection and seasonal
flu medication. Moreover, 7 medicines used by almost half of the cancer
patients in the country are still not available. The health ministry promises
Romania is not experiencing a medicine crisis and that storage facilities do
have the drugs in stock.

UKRAINE American aid is for the first time to reach Ukraine via the
Romanian logistics hub in Suceava, the US Embassy in Bucharest announced. The
shipment comprises 30 trucks with clothing, footwear, blankets, hygiene
products, diapers and emergency kits, donated as part of a campaign launched
last March in Utah. So far 40 tonnes of goods worth around USD 1 mln have been
donated, as well as USD 4 mln in cash.

TENNIS Romanian
tennis players found out their opponents in the first round of the Australian
Open. According to the drawing held on Thursday in Melbourne, Irina Begu will play
against China’s Saisai Zheng, Sorana Cîrstea will take up the uncomfortable
Kazakh player Iulia Putinteva, and Ana Bogdan will take on Anna Bondar of
Hungary. Jaqueline Cristian will have one of the most difficult opponents – the
American Jessica Pegula, and Patricia Ţig will be up against the Chinese Shuai
Zhang. Romania has five players at the Australian Open, after Simona Halep was
provisionally suspended after a positive doping test. (AMP)

12 January 2023
January 11, 2023

INFECTIONS – The wave of
respiratory infections and flu is intensifying on a weekly basis. Experts warn
the upward trend will tone down starting February at the earliest. During this
interval, doctors say a larger number of respiratory infections, particularly
in children, is to be expected. On the other hand, the first cases of Flurona -
which is a simultaneous infection with both flu and COVID-19, have been
reported in Romania, whereas a 74-year-old woman has died. Doctors say that Flurona
infections have a higher degree of severe evolution.

DEFENSE – Defense
Minister Angel Tîlvăr on Tuesday met with Romanian servicemen deployed to the
military base in Bemowo Piskie in Poland, and had talks with his Polish
counterpart, Mariusz Blazczak, about the situation in the region due to the
Russian aggression in Ukraine. Minister Tîlvăr pointed out Romania and Poland
displayed solidarity with Ukrainian refugees. Minister Angel Tîlvăr was
accompanied by the chief of general staff, General Daniel Petrescu. On Monday,
the two officials met with Romanian servicemen deployed to the NATO base in Pristina,
Kosovo, and discussed with the Kosovo Force commander, General Angelo Michele
Ristuccia about the security developments in the region.

GOVERNMENT – Romania’s Prime
Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, said in today’s government
session that total investment stood at some 14.6 billion EUR at the end of
2022, a record high for Romania, which confirms an upward trend of the Romanian
economy. Nicolae Ciucă quoted a recent
study of the Economic Department of Harvard Academy which states that Romania
has become the 19th most complex and sophisticated economy in the
world, with a potential for growth. Results by the end of 2030 should push
Romania in the top 10 countries. As regards foreign direct investment, the
Prime Minister said that in 2022 their volume exceeded the level of 2008, the
year that marked the highest such level. Last but not least, Nicolae Ciucă
highlighted the contribution of European funds.

NATIONAL BANK – The National
Bank of Romania today increased the monetary policy interest rate to 7%, in an
attempt to keep inflation in check. Central Bank experts expect the annual
inflation rate to slightly go down this quarter and the downward trend to pick
up speed in the following months. Starting this summer, the inflation rate
should drop below 10%, bank experts also say. The new increase in the monetary
policy interest rate is likely to trigger an increase in the interest rates of
commercial banks, particularly in case of loans.

IRAN -
Iran’s ambassador in Romania was summoned at the Foreign Ministry headquarters
on Tuesday, where he was notified regarding Romania’s firm opposition to the
enforcement of the capital sentence, irrespective of circumstances, and to the
hanging of protesters by Teheran authorities. The decision follows the hanging
of two Iranian protesters on January 7 in Teheran. The Romanian Foreign Ministry
expressed deep concern with the continuous violation of human rights in Iran,
including the sentencing of protesters for political reasons, in the absence of
a fair trial, in the context of nationwide protests triggered in September
2022, caused by the death of Masha Amini. The Romanian Foreign Ministry
reminded the Iranian ambassador regarding the conclusions of the Foreign
Affairs Council meeting of December 12, 2022, with a focus on all issues that
did not receive a constructive response from Teheran authorities. The Romanian
MFA also pointed out that the said aspects in the conclusions still need to be
resolved, failure of which would negative impact Iran’s relations with the EU.

GOLDEN
GLOBES – Steven Spielberg’s The
Fabelmans and Martin McDonagh’s The
Banshees of Inisherin have won the top awards in Tuesday’s Golden Globes
Awards Gala. Austin Butler, the male lead in Elvis (directed by Baz Luhrmann) was designated best actor in a
drama, whereas Cate Blanchett scooped the award for best actress for her role in
Tar (directed by Todd Field). The
award for best scenario wnet to Martin McDonagh for The Banshees of Inisherin. Santiago Mitre’s Argentina, 1985 got the award for best foreign motion picture,
while Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
got the award for best animation. House
of the Dragon got the award for best series. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr
Zelensky, a former actor himself, conveyed a recorded message on this occasion.
(VP)

11 January 2023
Covid-19 on a downward trend in Romania

According to authorities in Bucharest, the number of Covid-19 infections is going down in Romania. State Secretary with the Healthcare Ministry, epidemiologist Adriana Pistol said that 39 thousand new infections were reported last week, 13 thousand less than in the previous period of time. This downward tendency is visible now and will become more clearly visible next week. Here is epidemiologist Adriana Pistol.

Adriana Pistol: “Between August 8th and 14th the number of infections was considerably lower than a week before. So, obviously the number of infections is on a downward trend. This is also visible in the number of related fatalities, which was also lower than in the previous week. This is the situation now, but as people come back from holidays and the school year is to begin soon, we may expect the number of infections to rise again.”

Until next month when school is to resume, face covering remains an effective way to avoid the disease, state secretary Adriana Pistol went on to say.

Adriana Pistol: “We have seen people who are wearing masks in public transport vehicles and supermarkets; we thank them and encourage them to continue to do so. We believe such a behavior has largely contributed to this downward trend because the virus is airborne and this is the right method to avoid contamination and protect the others.”

36 hundred new infections were announced on Tuesday, lower than a week ago, while 4 thousand patients were being treated in hospitals around the country.

Authorities say the Omicron variant was responsible for most of the infections last week. BA2 has been identified in 39% of the cases, while BA5 in 16%. We recall that Romania lifted all restrictions on March 9th. Romanian Healthcare Minister Alexandru Rafila announced back then that mask mandates in indoor and outdoor spaces had been lifted. Covid and travel certificates ceased to be mandatory in Romania, a country, which had been in a state of medical alert for almost 2 years. According to official data, 3.1 million infections have so far been reported as well as 66 thousand related fatalities, mainly among people above 60.

(bill)

17 August 2022
Nouvelle vague de Covid en Roumanie?

Le
nombre d’infections au SARS-CoV-2 a doublé en Roumanie, en l’espace d’une semaine,
tandis que le nombre d’hospitalisations et de décès a augmenté de manière
significative. Près de 15 000 nouveaux cas de Covid ont été rapportés la
semaine dernière et les chiffres ne cesseront de monter les quatre ou cinq
prochaines semaines, estiment les experts de l’Institut national de santé
publique.

Le taux de positivité est actuellement de 12%, a précisé le ministre
de la santé, Alexandru Rafila. Dans ce contexte, les autorités de Bucarest ont
repris, mardi, la publication quotidienne du nombre de nouveaux cas de COVID, au
bout d’un mois de communication hebdomadaire. De l’avis des spécialistes, le
nouveau sous-variant Omicron, à l’origine de l’actuelle vague de contaminations
internationale et identifié aussi en Roumanie, échappe largement à la protection
apportée par le vaccin ou par une infection antérieure par le coronavirus, sans
pour autant provoquer des formes graves de Covid. Le ministre de la santé
considère qu’il faudrait remettre en place les mesures barrières, porter le
masque et éviter les espaces bondés. Alexandru Rafila recommande aussi, à ceux
qui ont des symptômes de la maladie, de: Se faire tester par le
médecin de famille ou d’appeler, si c’est le cas, les services d’ambulance. Si
le résultat du test est positif, il faut s’isoler chez soi et consulter le
médecin de famille ; en cas de symptômes plus graves ou si une personne
souffre également d’autres maladies, il faut prendre en compte l’hospitalisation.

Pour
ce qui est des tests de dépistage, une grande partie des centres dédiés ont
fermé après la dernière vague de Covid. À présent, la population peut se faire
tester dans quelque 4.300 tels centres, chez les médecins de famille, dans
certaines pharmacies, dans des cliniques ou des hôpitaux. En même temps, les
responsables de la santé cherchent les moyens de financer les centres
d’évaluation et de traitement COVID-19, pour qu’ils soient aussi ouverts en fin
de semaine, vu la nouvelle vague d’infections. 169 tels centres fonctionnent
actuellement sur l’ensemble du pays. Selon le ministre de la santé, ces unités
ne sont pas sous pression, pour l’instant, mais elles devraient être bien plus
accessibles, dans le contexte de l’augmentation du nombre de nouveaux cas.

Quant
à la vaccination, le ministre Alexandru Rafila, qui est lui-même médecin,
recommande de se faire vacciner à l’automne, lorsqu’une nouvelle formule du
vaccin anti-COVID sera disponible, car, a-t-il dit sur un plateau de
télévision, la formule actuelle n’a plus d’efficacité contre les variants de la
famille Omicron. Nous traversons actuellement une deuxième vague
Omicron, et le vaccin efficace contre ce variant est limité. Je crois qu’il
faut faire preuve d’honnêteté justement pour renforcer la confiance des gens à
l’égard de la vaccination. Si nous leur disons la vérité, alors nous devons le
faire à chaque fois, si la situation est moins favorable, comme c’est le cas actuellement,
ou si elle redevient favorable, comme ce sera le cas, nous l’espérons, cet
automne., a-t-il dit.

Le
ministre de la santé a informé que la nouvelle formule du vaccin devrait
arriver en Roumanie au mois de septembre. (Trad. Ileana Ţăroi)

13 July 2022
March 24, 2022

LAW The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest has endorsed a
draft law on completing the construction works on several hydropower plants in
Romania, projects scrapped a couple of years ago on environmental issues.
According to the initiators of the project, the ruling Social Democrats, the
measure would be a step forward in achieving Romania’s energy independence at
the same time making the most of the significant investment already made in the
projects. The opposition USR argues that some of Romania’s protected areas will
be destroyed for insignificant gain.

NATO Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis and the country’s Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca are
presently attending a special meeting, which has brought together in Brussels
heads of state and government from NATO countries. According to the
presidential administration, the meeting has been summoned against the
background of Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine and the growing risks and
threats against the regional security, European and Euro-Atlantic. Iohannis
said before the meeting on Thursday quote, ‘we already have very good news as
NATO has greenlighted the battle group that is to be deployed to Romania’. The
Romanian president insisted that additional measures are needed to consolidate
NATO’s permanent presence in the region. President Iohannis will present the
concerns related to the ex-soviet Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova, and also
brief the allies on the logistic centre in Suceava, north-eastern Romania. The ongoing
NATO summit, which has been the second this year, is also being attended by the
US president Joe Biden.

UKRAINE
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenski has urged millions around the world to
take to the streets today, a month after the onset of the Russian invasion when
many Ukrainian cities are still under attacks from Russian troops. Ukraine’s
chief of staff has announced that fighting continues around the besieged city
of Izyum while most of Ukriane’s military units in the eastern region of
Donetsk are under attack. Operations continue in the north of the country where
the Russian artillery is shelling the cities of Kalynivka, Horynka and
Romanovka as well as the north-western suburbs of Kyiv.

EU Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis is today and tomorrow attending the European Council
proceedings in Brussels. White House leader Joe Biden has also been invited to
the meeting as a confirmation of the tight Transatlantic coordination against
the security background created by the Russian aggression in Ukraine. High on
the agenda are the latest security developments in Ukraine with emphasis on the
EU political, financial, material and humanitarian assistance to this country. Participants
will also tackle ways of providing assistance to the Ukrainian refugees, as
well as the Strategic Compass, an instrument aimed at providing a roadmap in
terms of security and defence at the EU level. The EU council proceedings are
also to focus on the situation of the energy prices and how to provide
assistance to the most vulnerable categories and the business environment.

COVID-19 On Thursday Romania reported over four thousand Covid infections in the
past 24 hours and 37 related fatalities. 428 patients are being treated in
ICUs, the lowest number in the past three months. We recall that no anti-Covid
restriction has been applied in the past two weeks in Romania, although the
country’s Health Minister Alexandru Rafila still recommends the observance of
individual protection measures, particularly the face covering in indoor and
crowded spaces. Rafila has also recalled the existence of vaccination centers
in medical centres across the country.

(bill)

24 March 2022
Vaccination and anti-viral treatment in Romania

The number of patients infected with Covid-19 in
Romania is alarmingly increasing by the day. A new all-time high was registered
on Wednesday then authorities announced over 43 thousand new cases, 5 thousand
in Bucharest alone, the highest number of infections since the beginning of the
pandemic. New record highs have been reported in other counties as well.

According to Health Minister Alexandru Rafila,
the high number of infections was expected and there are no reasons for people
to panic. Rafila says that it has been for the first time when a large number
of tests have been done in 24 hours.

Alexandru
Rafila: Roughly 110 thousand tests have been carried out allowing us to assess
the evolution generated by the Omicron variant, which is more transmissible
than the previous variants. We continue to have severe cases caused by the
Delta variant, which is still present in Romania, where it accounts for 20-25%
of those infected, most of them being presently treated in ICUs.

Also on Wednesday, Romania kicked off a vaccination campaign for
children with ages between 5 and 11. According to army physician Valeriu
Gheorghita, in charge of Romania’s vaccine rollout, the vaccines approved and
authorized for this age bracket are safe, effective and can prevent over 90% of
the infections. 230 vaccination points have been set up across the country for
this campaign, which is using the vaccine produced by the well-known
pharmaceutical company Pfizer/BioNTech, which
has got the approval for the population above 12 years. Experts have underlined
that in order to get immunized, children must have the approval of their
parents or their legal trustees, who must fill in a special form.

Valeriu Gheorghiţă says that at present, in
Romania, out of the 7 thousand people treated in hospitals, roughly 10% are
children and people under 18 years, and the vaccine prevents the largest number
of severe cases and deaths. However, the interest of the Romanians in getting
the vaccine remains low with a little over 8 million who got the first jab, 7.9
million fully vaccinated and over 2.3 million with the booster. Authorities
have again reminded people that the vaccine is the best way to stop the Covid-19
pandemic.

According to minister Rafila, the first
quantities of Molnupiravir, a drug prescribed to the high-risk patients
infected with the novel coronavirus in hospitals and other treatment facilities
could arrive in Romania late this week. In his opinion, the medicine will have
a positive impact, by reducing the pressure on ICUs as well as the number of
fatalities.

(bill)

27 January 2022
January 24, 2022 UPDATE

CELEBRATION Romania celebrated on Monday 163
years since the Union of the Romanian Principalities, the first major step in
the formation of the Romanian nation state, paving the way for the Great Union
of 1918. On January 24, 1859, Alexandru Ioan Cuza was elected ruler of
Wallachia, after on January 5 he had become sovereign of Moldavia. His rule
laid the foundations for modern Romania. Monday was a banking holiday in
Romania. While many people chose to spend the holiday in mountain resorts, the
ones who stayed at home had the option of attending military and religious
ceremonies and celebratory concerts organised around the country under COVID-19
restrictions. Bucharest’s Patriarchal Cathedral hosted a service devoted to all
those who contributed to the 1859 Union. Politicians posted messages on this
occasion. President Klaus Iohannis said the Union on January 24, 1859 proves
the importance of a project able to bring together the energy of the Romanian
nation, and urged people to work persistently to consolidate the country’s
current European and democratic path. The Liberal PM Nicolae Ciucă pointed out
that the Union was the result of the untiring efforts of the politicians of the
time, driven by the nation’s dream of unity and of administrative, economic and
social progress. In turn, the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and president
of the Social Democratic Party Marcel Ciolacu said that, 163 years since the
Union of the Romanian Principalities, what Romanians need more than ever is
unity and stability, if they are to handle current economic, healthcare and
security challenges.

COVID-19 Romanian
authorities announced on Monday 12,082 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections in 24
hours and 41 related deaths. The incidence rate in the capital Bucharest is on
the rise, reaching 10.23 cases per thousand people. The city has been in the
red tier since January 12, when the incidence rate went over 3 per thousand.
The COVID-19 testing capacity is set to increase this week to 150,000 tests per
day, as over 3,800 family physicians have signed contracts with public health
insurance agencies in this respect. In Bucharest and the nearby county of
Ilfov, where the largest number of cases is reported, testing centres have
already been opened in 20 hospitals. On Wednesday at the latest COVID-19
testing will also be resumed in schools, after more than 10 million test kits
were received by school inspectorates. A batch of 114,000 doses of Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 are set to reach the country on
Tuesday. The health minister Alexandru Rafila expects the current (5th)
wave of the pandemic to reach its peak in Romania in about 3 weeks’ time.

UKRAINE NATO countries are
placing forces on
standby and sending additional ships and fighter jets to NATO deployments in
eastern Europe, as Russiacontinues its military build-up
around Ukraine, the Alliance announced on Monday. Denmark is sending a frigate
to the Baltic Sea and is set to deploy four F-16 fighter jets to Lithuania,
Spain is sending ships to join NATO naval forces and is considering sending
fighter jets to Bulgaria. France has expressed its readiness to send troops to
Romania under NATO command. The Netherlands is sending two F-35 fighter
aircraft to Bulgaria in April to support NATO’s air-policing activities in the
region, and is putting a ship and land-based units on standby for NATO’s
Response Force. The US also announced it is considering increasing its military
presence in the eastern part of the Alliance. The
president of Ukraine Volodymyr
Zelensky Monday thanked the EU for the 1.2 billion euros in macro-financial aid
provided in order to support Kyev in a prospective conflict with Russia. Strong
Ukraine is the key for European security, he said in a Twitter post. Russia
has deployed around 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border, fuelling concerns
about a prospective attack on that country.

TENNIS The Romanian tennis
player Simona Halep lost to Alizé Cornet of France, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, in the round
of 16 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday. For Halep (15 WTA), this
was the first defeat after a string of 8 consecutive wins.Also on Monday, Sorana Cîrstea of Romania lost to seed
no. 7 Iga Swiatek of Poland, in the same competition round, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.

DOCUMENTARY The French public TV channel France 3 broadcasts
for the first time a documentary on Marie of Romania, the amazing queen
of the Carpathians, as part of its highly popular history series
Secrets of history. The production of the documentary took one year
and a half. Archive photos and footage have been collected, along with
testimonies by historians and members of the Royal House of Romania. Scenes
have been shot at the Peleş and Bran castles in the southern Carpathians, at
the Cotroceni National Museum in Bucharest and at the Curtea de Argeş Monastery
where Royal House members have been buried. Queen Marie, the wife of King
Ferdinand I, was acknowledged in Europe as an ambassador of the Romanian nation
and a supporter of the Romanian nation state. (A.M.P.)

24 January 2022
January 24, 2022

CELEBRATION
Today Romania celebrates 163 years since the Union of the Romanian
Principalities, the first major step in the formation of the Romanian nation
state, paving the way for the Great Union of 1918. On January 24, 1859,
Alexandru Ioan Cuza was elected ruler of Wallachia, after on January 5 he had
become sovereign of Moldavia. His rule laid the foundations for modern Romania.
January 24 is a banking holiday in Romania. While many people chose to spend
the holiday in mountain resorts, the ones who stayed at home had the option of
attending military and religious ceremonies and celebratory concerts organised
around the country under COVID-19 restrictions. Bucharest’s Patriarchal
Cathedral hosted a service devoted to all those who contributed to the 1859 Union.
Politicians posted messages on this occasion. President Klaus Iohannis said the
Union on January 24, 1859 proves the importance of a project able to bring
together the energy of the Romanian nation, and urged people to work
persistently to consolidate the country’s current European and democratic path.
The Liberal PM Nicolae Ciucă pointed out that the Union was the result of the
untiring efforts of the politicians of the time, driven by the nation’s dream
of unity and of administrative, economic and social progress. This desire
endured with all the following generations, triggering major changes in the
Romanian society, Nicolae Ciucă added. In turn, the speaker of the Chamber of
Deputies and president of the Social Democratic Party Marcel Ciolacu said that,
163 years since the Union of the Romanian Principalities, what Romanians need
more than ever is unity and stability, if they are to handle current economic,
healthcare and security challenges.

COVID-19 Romanian authorities announced today 12,082 new cases of SARS-CoV-2
infections in 24 hours and 41 related deaths. The incidence rate in the capital
Bucharest is on the rise, reaching 10.23 cases per thousand people. The city
has been in the red tier since January 12, when the incidence rate went over 3
per thousand. The COVID-19 testing capacity is set to increase this week to
150,000 tests per day, as over 3,800 family physicians have signed contracts
with public health insurance agencies in this respect. In Bucharest and the
nearby county of Ilfov, where the largest number of cases is reported, testing
centres have already been opened in 20 hospitals. On Wednesday at the latest
COVID-19 testing will also be resumed in schools, after more than 10 million
test kits were received by school inspectorates. The health minister Alexandru
Rafila expects the current (5th) wave of the pandemic to reach its
peak in Romania in about 3 weeks’ time.

UKRAINE The European Union does not intend for the time being to follow in
the footsteps of the US and order the families of its diplomats to leave
Ukraine, the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said today, according to
France Presse and Reuters. On Sunday night a senior US official justified the
decision saying that a Russian invasion may take place at any time. The US
secretary of state Antony Blinken is to address a meeting of the EU foreign
ministers in Brussels today, via video link, to update them on his recent talks
with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. Attending
the meeting in Brussels is the Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu. Russia has deployed around 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border,
which the West reads as a preparation for an attack designed to prevent Ukraine
from joining NATO.

DOCUMENTARY The French public TV channel France 3 tonight airs for the first
time a documentary on Marie of Romania, the amazing queen of the
Carpathians, as part of its highly popular history series Secrets
of history. The production of the documentary took one year and a half.
Archive photos and footage have been collected, along with testimonies by
historians and members of the Royal House of Romania. Scenes have been shot at
the Peleş and Bran castles in the southern Carpathians, at the Cotroceni
National Museum in Bucharest and at the Curtea de Argeş Monastery where Royal
House members have been buried. Queen Marie, the wife of King Ferdinand I, was
acknowledged in Europe as an ambassador of the Romanian nation and a supporter
of the Romanian nation state.

TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep lost to Alizé Cornet
of France, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, in the round of 16 of the Australian Open in
Melbourne today. For Halep (15 WTA) this was the first defeat after a string of
8 consecutive wins. Also today, Sorana Cîrstea of Romania takes on seed no. 7 Iga
Swiatek of Poland, in the same competition round. (A.M.P.)

24 January 2022
January 21, 2022 UPDATE 2

TALKS US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said he would continue his dialogue with Moscow but called on Russia to pull out the troops it deployed to the border with Ukraine. After the talks with his Russian counterpart Serghei Lavrov, which he described as a candid exchange of concerns and ideas Blinken said that next week Washington would present Moscow with ideas under the form of written responses. In turn, Lavrov has confirmed the USA has pledged written responses to Moscows requests concerning the European security architecture. Romanias president Klaus Iohannis on Thursday hailed the announcement made by his US counterpart Joe Biden over an increased US military presence in Romania, if security would get deteriorated. Iohannis has also added that the strategic Romanian-French partnership will be strengthened in the Black Sea area after the announcement made by his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that France is ready to send troops to Romania as part of the NATO missions. Russia has amassed 100 thousand troops at its border with Ukraine but denies any plans for an invasion.

STRIKE Trade unionists from Bucharests Public Transportation Company (STB) have decided to carry on their all out strike in spite of a ruling from the Bucharest Court, which deems the protest as illegal and calls for the immediate cessation of the strike. The strike has kept the Romanian capital city paralyzed for the second day in a row and the protesters have ignored the courts decisions on Friday and Thursday, under which they should have resumed activity. The STB workers have called for pay rises and the resignation of the companys director and said they would not resume work unless their claims were met. City mayor Nicusor Dan believes the protest is political and has called for the observance of the law while Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu has cautioned over the seriousness of not complying with a court rule.

COVID-19 19,649 new infections have been reported in the last 24 hours in Romania, an all-time high since the start of the pandemic. Yesterday, the country had over 19 thousand infections and 49 related fatalities were also reported on Friday. Health Minister Alexandru Rafila says the COVID-related mortality rate is at present ten times lower compared to October last year. The Romanian official added that an innovative antiviral treatment will also be made available shortly. 8 million Romanians have so far received at least one dose of the anti-COVID-19 vaccine. The rate of vaccination stands at 47.5% of the total eligible population, the head of the National Committee for the Coordination of anti-COVID-19 Vaccination Activities, medical doctor Valeriu Gheorghiţă has announced. According to Dr. Gheorghiţă, the highest vaccination rate (56%) is reported in the 50-59 age bracket. The Health Ministry announced that the bed occupation rate in hospitals stands at 22% at national level, meaning classes in schools will continue with full physical attendance next week as well.

MINISTRY Romanias Foreign Ministry has rejected the statements of the Foreign Ministry of Russian Federation concerning the allied military presence on NATOs eastern flank, which it considers inopportune and ungrounded. The Ministry recalls in a communiqué that the NATO presence in the allied countries, which is the result of the decisions made at the highest level by allied leaders and implemented by responsible allied political and military structures is a response to the Russian Federations increasingly aggressive behaviour in the eastern neighbourhood starting 2014, when it occupied Crimea. This behavior continues to intensify in spite of NATOs attempts to engage in a constructive dialogue, the Ministry in Bucharest says. Russia on Friday asked for the withdrawal of NATO troops from Romania and Bulgaria as part of any treaty.

(bill)

21 January 2022
January 16, 2022 UPDATE

STRIKE Trade unionists in Romania’s education system are to go on a token
strike on Wednesday and cease classes for two hours in their schools. The
protesters have called for pay rises, for the allotment of 6% of the GDP to
education and the pay for the extra hours worked. Almost 100 trade unionists
from Romania’s education on Thursday picketed the government building and the
headquarters of the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party. The
protest on Thursday was their fourth in front of the government building. On
Saturday, the Day of National Culture in Romania, artists and organizers of
various events, mounted protests in Bucharest and Sibiu, in central Romania,
asking for compensations for their restricted activity during the pandemic. The
protesters have denounced the lack of coherent measures aimed at supporting the
sector of culture in Romania, severely affected in the past two years of
pandemic.

HANDBALL SCM Ramnicu Valcea, a women’s handball team from Romania, on
Sunday started off on their right foot with a clear home win 39-29 against the
Hungarian side Vaci NKSE in group D of the EHF European League. On Saturday in
group C of the same competition Magura Cisnadie, a women’s handball team from
central Romania lost away to the Danish side Herning-Ikast Handbold 31-28 while
in group B, CS Minaur Baia Mare from north-western Romania lost to German side
BBM Bietigheim 39-20. Also on Saturday, Romania’s champions CSM Bucharest
secured a 28-20 away win against Montenegrin side Buducnost Podgorica in the
Champions League. With 10 points out of nine games, the Romanians go up to the
group’s fourth position and are to meet French side Brest Bretagne in an away
game on January 19th and take on German side Borussia Dortmund at
home on January 22nd.

COVID-19 According to the latest figures released by authorities on
Sunday, 7595 new Covid-19 infections have been reported in the past 24 hours in
Romania, 60% more than a week ago. 28 Covid-related fatalities have been
reported. Experts believe the fifth wave of the pandemic is stronger than the
previous ones and is to reach its peak in Romania in the last week of January
or the first of February, when the number of daily cases is expected to go up
to 50 thousand. The interest of the Romanians in getting the jab is still low,
with only 36 hundred in the past 24 hours. Epidemiologists are urging the
people to get immunized because the vulnerable categories are at risk.

TENNIS Romania has five representatives on the main draw of Australian
Open, the year’s first Grand Slam tournament. Other Romanians have been
eliminated from the competition in the qualifiers. In the first round Simona
Halep, a former number one, will be up against Magdalena Frech of Poland, while
Sorana Cirstea will be playing Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, who has a
5-3 advantage in head-to-head matches. Another Romanian player, Irina Begu will
be up against Oceane Dodin of France. Jaqueline Cristian of Romania will be
playing Greet Minnen of Belgium and Gabriela Ruse will be meeting Jasmine Paolini
of Italy. British player Emma Raducanu, who has a Romanian father and is the
defending champion of the US Open will be playing Sloane Stephens of the USA.

JUSTICE The Ministry of Justice in Bucharest has completed a draft on
dismantling the Special Direction for investigating criminal offences within
the judiciary, SIIJ. The institution has announced in a communiqué that in the
following days it will submit the document for government and Parliament
approval. We recall that the activity of this special body has attracted
criticism from the European Commission, which says the SIIJ could be more
susceptible to interventions from outside than the Anti-corruption Directorate,
known in Romania as the DNA. The Justice Ministry has announced that it will
resume the process of amending the justice laws and the criminal codes so that
they can be approved by Parliament by the end of March. The Ministry of Justice
reiterates its support for the EU law and legislation stipulated by the Lisbon
Treaty and recognized by the Romanian constitution.

(bill)

16 January 2022
School – between online and in-person education

The
National Committee for Emergency Situations has altered the epidemiological
conditions for the pre-university education in Romania.

Under
the new regulations issued by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of
Health, the occupation rate of hospital beds by Covid-infected patients will
from now on be considered in the process of switching from traditional to online
education.

In-person
classrooms will become available in all the counties where this rate stays
under 75%. Above this level, schools must turn to e-learning and aren’t allowed
to revert to traditional education unless the county rate goes below 70%.

Health
departments with every county council, including Bucharest, are required to
post on their own webpages this index every week on Thursdays, based on data
released by the Ministry of Health.

In-person
courses are to be suspended for a period of 10 days if there are three
confirmed infection cases in a group of students attending one form or another of
pre-university education. This year preschoolers and students will not have a
holiday between the first and the second semester of the year, which is due to
begin on January 17th. The next holiday, known in Romania as the
spring holiday, is going to last from 15th April to 1st May.

In
another development, trade unions from education staged a protest in Bucharest
on Thursday, denouncing the government’s failure to implement a pay raise in
compliance with the 2017 law on payment.

According
to them the insignificant 4% raise at the beginning of the year has only enraged
the employees in the education system who are threatening with further
protests.

Teachers
are complaining about the fact they are the only state-employees who do not
benefit bonuses. A decision by the Education Ministry to raise the grades for
merit scholarships from 8.50 to 9.50 has also triggered discontent among students
and parents alike. According to student organisations, hundreds of thousands of
them are losing this financial incentive under the new government decision and they
have commenced various forms of protest.

On the
other hand field minister Sorin Câmpeanu says that a total number of 660
thousand students will this year benefit several types of scholarships.

(bill)

14 January 2022
Outpatient Evaluation Centres in Romania

Romania
is these days seeing an increasing number of Covid-19 infections and
authorities are taking the first measures to cope with the situation. In a video
conference with hospital managers and other health officials on Tuesday,
Romania’s Health Minister Alexandru Rafila discussed the outpatient evaluation
centers for Covid-infected patients as well as the measures hospitals must take
in order to provide medical services to infected patients and those suffering
from other diseases. The minister underlined the importance of the outpatient
evaluation centers, which are ready to investigate and provide treatment to
those infected, in order to avoid hospital overcrowding.

According
to State Secretary Adriana Pistol, it is important that Covid-infected patients
arrive at these centers as soon as possible so that they may get the right
treatment. In this way, severe cases can be prevented. Patients will not need a
referral to get to these centers, which are ready to provide free treatment to
all those infected, whether they have health insurance or not.

The
Health Ministry is trying to draw up an interactive map of these centers and
made it available to the citizens as soon as possible. The first seven centers
have already become operational in the county of Alba, in central Romania. According
to experts, the Omicron variant is spreading more rapidly than Delta and the main
recommendations are to use high-quality protection masks and get the vaccine,
including the booster jab in order to increase effectiveness against the new
variant.

Unfortunately,
Romania’s vaccine rollout is moving at a sluggish pace and even though the
number of those vaccinated is on the rise these days, the country is still on
the last but one position in an EU vaccination ranking.

According
to physician Marius Geantă, chair of the Centre for Innovation in Medicine, the
new variant is four times more transmissible than Delta and the social
distancing of 1.5 meters previously recommended is no longer effective in this
case because the virus is airborne. Geanta recommends the use of masks in
outdoor and indoor spaces, particularly in the crowded areas and even the use
of masks with a higher protection degree, such as the so-called FFP masks.

(bill)

5 January 2022
04/01/2022

Covid en Roumanie — En Roumanie, le nombre de nouveaux cas de Covid continue de croître : mardi, 3 900 ont été rapportés pour les dernières 24 h, et 52 décès. Le taux de positivité des tests s’est également beaucoup accru. En plus, le taux d’incidence des cas cumulé sur 14 jours a grimpé dans la plupart des départements. Les autorités préconisent des mesures censées limiter les effets de la 5e vague de la pandémie. Elles visent, entre autres, une intensification de la vaccination, l’obligation de porter des masques plus efficaces et une présence décalée sur les lieux de travail. Détails après nos infos.

Réunion – Le premier ministre roumain, Nicolae Ciucă, a eu aujourd’hui une réunion de travail avec des membres de son cabinet et des représentants des compagnies Transelectrica, Transgaz et Romgaz, sur l’état d’avancement des préparatifs pour la saison d’hiver, dans la perspective des évolutions du secteur énergétique. Selon le Bureau de presse du gouvernement, il résulte de cette analyse que la fourniture de l’électricité est assurée tant pour les services essentiels que pour les consommateurs domestiques et pour d’autres catégories de consommateurs. Quant à la fourniture de gaz, les quantités nécessaires à un fonctionnement normal sont assurées aussi, affirme la source citée.

Justice – La Cour d’appel de Bucarest a reporté de deux mois, au 3 mars, le prononcé de l’arrêt définitif dans le procès des personnes mises en examen suite à la tragédie d’il y a six ans au Club Colectiv de Bucarest, qui a fait 65 morts. En décembre 2019, le Tribunal de grande instance de Bucarest avait prononcé en première instance des peines d’emprisonnement allant jusqu’à 13 ans et fixé des dédommagements totaux de 50 millions de lei (10 millions d’euros) pour les familles des victimes. Détails après nos infos.

Négationnisme – L’Institut national pour l’étude de l’Holocauste de Roumanie Elie Wiesel a condamné ce qu’il considère comme les manifestations négationnistes de l’Alliance pour l’unité des Roumains (AUR), la quatrième force au parlement de Bucarest. Auparavant, l’AUR avait transmis un communiqué de presse dans lequel elle soutenait qu’une action systématique visant à miner la qualité de l’éducation en Roumanie était constatée, en élevant au rang de discipline d’étude ce qu’elle appelait « des thèmes mineurs ou pouvant faire l’objet de simples leçons dans les disciplines existantes », l’un des exemples étant l’Holocauste. L’Institut affirme que nier la Shoah ne fait qu’entretenir la haine antisémite et c’est une manière de nier la démocratie. Dans le communiqué de presse d’hier, l’AUR soutient qu’au lieu de ces thèmes, jugés mineurs, l’importance de matières telles que les sciences exactes, la langue et la littérature roumaines ou l’histoire nationale devrait croître. L’Alliance pour l’unité des Roumains, qualifiée par la plupart des analystes d’extrémiste, s’est remarquée par la promotion agressive du courant anti vaccin et par la prise de position souverainiste par rapport aux institutions européennes.

Tennis — La joueuse de tennis roumaine Elena-Gabriela Ruse a débuté par une victoire en 2022, devant l’Australienne Arina Rodionova, ce mardi, au premier tour du tournoi Melbourne Summer Set 1 (WTA 250). Sa prochaine adversaire pourrait être Simona Halep (20 WTA), 2e favorite, qui affronte l’Australienne Destanee Aiava (316e WTA). Halep et Ruse feront un duo au premier tour de l’épreuve de double à Melbourne Summer Set 2, contre la paire Bernarda Pera (Etats-Unis)/Katerina Siniakova (République tchèque), 2e favorites. Ce mardi, au premier tour à Melbourne Summer Set 1, Jaqueline Cristian jouera contre l’Estonienne Kaia Kanepi. Une autre Roumaine, Irina Begu, a disposé en deux sets de l’Américaine Jessica Pegula, principale favorite du tournoi Melbourne Summer Set 2 (WTA 250). Ce mardi, Sorana Cîrstea, tête de série n° 5 au Melbourne Summer Set 2, aura pour adversaire la Russe Varvara Graceva.

Météo – Le temps en Roumanie est particulièrement chaud pour la saison, avec des maximales comprises entre 6 et 15 degrés. Le ciel est variable dans les régions sud et du sud-ouest. Pour le reste du pays, quelques passages nuageux sont signalés, avec des ondées sur des zones restreintes, en particulier dans le nord. En haute montagne, on retrouve des précipitations mixtes. Vents légers à modérés avec des rafales sur le relief. A Bucarest, les valeurs thermiques resteront beaucoup plus élevées que de coutume pour cette date, avec une maximale d’environ 11 degrés.

4 January 2022