Radio România Internațional

Tag: infections

Three scenarios for the 5th wave

Romanian experts say that Omicron is likely to generate a 5th wave of the pandemic and that this new variant of the coronavirus may become dominant in the country in January. The peak of the Omicron wave could be reached 31 days after the date when the national infection rate exceeds 1%, and not 52 days after this date, as in the case of the Delta variant. Dr. Adriana Pistol, head of the National Centre for Surveillance and Control of Communicable Diseases, presented three scenarios, with an impact on the healthcare system during the 5th wave. The worst case scenario is, according to Dr. Pistol, the full occupation of the 25,000 hospital beds available for Covid patients in 27 days. Also in this scenario, 1,500 beds in intensive care units would be fully occupied in 20 days. According to Adriana Pistol, the main vulnerabilities in the context of the 5th wave are the fact that 60% of the people aged over 65 and people with chronic diseases are not vaccinated while only 25% of the people immunized had the booster jab.

Another vulnerability is the delay in passing legislation on the introduction of the Covid green certificate, that could have prevented the spread. Also, there are no instruments to control the spread of the disease by people traveling from countries affected by Omicron. Faced with the perspective of a 5th wave of the pandemic, PM Nicolae Ciuca announced a number of measures, such as better informing the population, extended testing and encouraging vaccination. PM Nicolae Ciuca: ˮAn operative health information management group will be set up within the Health Ministry, to coordinate resources, actions and medical information. We will increase testing capacity and focus on outpatient medical assistance. ˮ

In his turn, Health Minister Alexandru Rafila made a number of recommendations, among which vaccination, observance of social distancing measures and increased testing capacity: ˮMy colleagues and I believe that vaccination prevents severe cases and deaths. Observing social distancing measures, personal hygiene rules and wearing the face mask correctly are vital. Testing is essential and we encourage it in all possible ways, whether we refer to asymptomatic persons and direct contacts or to voluntary testing. Contacting the family doctor as soon as symptoms that might suggest the presence of the disease are detected, is also very important. ˮ

Health Minister, Alexandru Rafila, also recommended a daily triage of the staff, a work schedule that avoids crowding common spaces and transportation means, and also tele-work. (EE)

30 December 2021
December 20, 2021

COVID-19 424 new Covid infections have been registered in Romania
in the past 24 hours, authorities have announced. 36 Covid-related fatalities
have also been reported, though the number of people interested in getting the
vaccine is getting lower. Since the vaccine rollout kicked off in Romania a
year ago, 7.7 million people have been fully vaccinated placing Romania on the
last but one position in an EU ranking.

FORM The Digital passenger locator, a
form, which has to be filled in by travelers coming to Romania, has come into
effect in this country as well. The document replaces the epidemiological
statement in use so far at all border checkpoints. The form is available at the
e-platform plf.gov.ro and the data to be introduced must include IDs, the
country the visitors come from as well as the last countries they have
transited in the past two weeks, their address in Romania and a phone number.
The data is needed in order to establish whether new restrictions are to be
imposed as well as in the event of an epidemiological investigation, provided
someone got in contact with an infected person. 18 EU countries are already
using this locator.

VISIT Today and
tomorrow Romania’s Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca is paying a working visit to
Brussels, which includes a series of meetings with high EU officials. According
to a government release, the prime Minister is today having a working dinner
with the president of the European Council, Charles Michel. The Romanian
official is to meet the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and
other EC officials. At the NATO headquarters, Ciuca will be meeting the
Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg.

EVENTS 32 years on
from the anti-communist revolution, the city of Timisoara, in western Romania,
is today celebrating the day of the victory against communism through a series
of events dedicated to the most important moment in Romania’s recent history.
Sirens were sounded for three minutes at noon as a reminder that 32 years ago
Timisoara became Romania’s first city free of communism. After four days of
bloody reprisals with hundreds of people killed or wounded, the big factories
went on strike and 10 thousand people went to the streets of Timisoara, whereas
the army retired to their barracks. Communist symbols were removed and the
Romanian Democratic Front, the first illegal political formation was founded.
From the balcony of the Opera Theatre, Timisoara was declared a city free of
communism.

WEATHER A little bit about the weather
in Romania where the sky is overcast in most of the regions and it is snowing
in the mountains. There are mixed precipitations in the rest of the territory.
Glazed frost is expected in some areas while the wind is moderate in most of
the regions. Blizzards have been reported in the mountains. The highs of the
day range between minus 2 and 10 degrees Celsius with a noon reading in
Bucharest of 7 degrees.

(bill)

20 December 2021
November 6, 2021 UPDATE

SPORT
Romanian swimmer David
Popovici won gold in the 200 meter freestyle race of the European Short Course
Swimming Championships underway in Kazan, Russia. This has been the third medal
for Romania after silver and bronze won by Robert Glinta in the 100 meter and
50 meter backstroke race. In another development, Romanian tennis player Horia
Tecau and his German partner Kevin Krawietz have qualified for Nitto ATP Finals
in Turin over November 14th and 21st a competition, which
is the year-end climax to the ATP Tour season
and features only the world’s best eight qualified singles players and doubles
teams. Tecau and Krawietz, who are presently ranking 7th in the ATP
Doubles Race, have booked tickets for Turin after the results they obtained at
Paris Masters. The tournament in Turin would be Tecau’s seventh participation
in the Nitto ATP Finals.

COVID-19 Authorities in Romania on Saturday announced over 8
thousand new Covid -19 infections. 490 new fatalities have also been reported
bringing the death toll since the beginning of the pandemic to 50 thousand. Romania
continues to get international assistance in its efforts to keep the pandemic
at bay. Another four patients in severe conditions are to be transported for
treatment to hospitals in the Czech Republic and Denmark and a medical team of
experts is to arrive in Romania from Israel to help the local physicians in
their efforts to fight the pandemic. The head of Romania’s Department for
Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, says that although the number of infections
is on a downward trend, hospitals will remain overcrowded for another couple of
weeks and the number of fatalities remains higher. Arafat has also said that
vaccination remains the main form of protection. After being on an upward trend
for a couple of weeks, the country’s vaccine rollout has slowed down of late.
Since Romania’s vaccine rollout kicked off in late December last year, the
number of Romanians fully vaccinated has reached nearly 6.5 million. The man in
charge of the country’s vaccine rollout, physician Valeriu Gheorghita, urged
people to not let themselves be fooled by individuals who came out of nowhere and
are spreading fake news underlining the most effective way in the fight against
the pandemic remains vaccination. Gheorghita participated in an online Q&A
marathon together with other doctors and experts.

SCHOOL Roughly 1,800,000 students and preschoolers are to commence
courses on Monday, less than two thirds out of the total number, after a
two-week holidays. The rest are to resume online courses, under a joint
decision by the Ministries of Education and Health in Romania, which provides
that students can resume courses in person only in those schools with at least
60% of their teaching staff vaccinated. The Students Council believes the
measure is not enough for the safe resumption of physical schooling though and
has called on the medical authorities to develop an algorithm upon which
schools may decide the format of courses they provide considering other factors
besides the staff vaccination, like the local infection rate, test capabilities
in certain regions and the conditions for keeping social distancing and
implementing prevention measures. Education Minister Sorin Campeanu has
announced the purchase and the future distribution to schools of 9 million
tests. 30% of the students over 12 have so far been vaccinated.

TALKS Romania’s Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu is going to have a
round of talks with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington on
Monday during the visit he is paying to the USA over November 8th
and 9th upon the invitation of his US counterpart. The visit marks
the official opening of the 7th meeting part of the US-Romania
strategic dialogue for the 21st century. The Talks between the two
officials are to be focusing on identifying concrete ways of developing and
deepening bilateral cooperation in several fields such as politics, security,
military, energy and economic cooperation.

(bill)

6 November 2021
November 4, 2021

GOVERNMENT Representatives of the National Liberal Party (PNL) are
today having talks with the opposition Social Democrats PSD in an attempt to
forge a fully functional government with a stable Parliament majority. The
Social Democrats are now claiming the position of Prime Minister, a position
the Liberals do not want to concede as they want the majority to be forged
around the PNL. On Wednesday the Liberals resumed talks with USR and according
to the PNL Leader Florin Citu there are chances for rebuilding the right-wing
coalition. USR leader Dacian Ciolos showed less optimism waiting for a decision
from the Liberals after today’s round of talks with the PSD. They are also waiting for a statement from President Klaus Iohannis over a new round of talks
with Parliament parties after two failed attempts to forge a new government.
The latest Prime Minister designate, Liberal Ncolae Ciuca has stepped down
after a failed attempt to forge a minority PNL-UDMR government. The first Prime
Minister designate, USR leader, Dacian Ciolos, has also failed to get
Parliament support. We recall the cabinet led by Florin Citu has been sacked
through a censure motion.

COVID-19 Over 10 thousand new Covid 19 infections
have been reported in Romania in the past 24 hours out of 64 thousand tests
conducted by the authorities. Bucharest comes first with the highest number of
infections 1560. 451 Covid-related fatalities have also been announced while
1890 patients are being treated in ICUs, the largest number so far. Romania’s vaccine
rollout has slowed down in the past days with only 47 thousand vaccinated on
Wednesday. The number of Romanians fully vaccinated so far has exceeded 6,400,000
people.

EBRD The European Bank for reconstruction and
Development EBRD has significantly improved its estimate on Romania’s economic
growth in 2021 forecasting a 7.2% growth against 6% in June, a report published
today says. The Recovery and Resilience facility could lead to a rise in
investment and a gradual increase in exports whereas the reduced private
consumption and the fiscal consolidation could translate into a 4.4% GDP
growth, the bank experts believe. According to them the main risk is posed by
the development of the pandemic as Romania has the second slowest vaccine
rollout in the EU. According to the EBRD, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria are
seeing a significant economic recovery after the difficult 2020. Romania’s main
growth engine seems to be its domestic demand.

FILE Culprits in the Colectiv file, a trial, which is coming to a final ruling
six years after the tragedy, could benefit from reduced sentences. We recall
that a blaze that ripped through the night club Colectiv in Bucharest on
October 30th 2015 killed 65 and wounded 150 others. The judges in
the Court in Bucharest dealing with the file have partially changed the legal
classification of offences a part of those involved in the case have committed,
including the former mayor of the Bucharest district where the club was
located. The verdict might lead to reduced sentences for the culprits in a file
that dragged on for 6 years.

FOOTBALL Romania’s football champions CFR Cluj are today up against AZ
Alkmaar of the Netherlands in a group D match of Europa Conference League.
Alkmaar are the group’s odds-on favourites as they haven’t lost a single match
so far and mustered 7 points. CFR are last in the group with only one point
after a one-all draw against Danish side Randers and stand only mathematical
chances to qualify for the competition’s next stage.

(bill)

4 November 2021
November 3, 2021 UPDATE

COVID-19 Authorities in Romania on Wednesday reported 10,196 Covid infections in
the past 24 hours. 451 Romanians have died and over 19 thousand are being
treated in hospitals, 1890 of whom in ICUs. Bucharest has an infection rate of
12.89 per thousand and this rate has been going down for the past 12 days from
the peak of 16.54 reached on October 22. According to the authorities, although
the number of infections is on a downward trend, the country’s medical system
is to remain under pressure for at least two weeks. The WHO crisis manager for
Romania, Heather Papowitz has recommended the authorities to come up with an
action plan to put an end to the pandemic with clear elements and goals adding
that vaccination is the only solution.

GOVERNMENT The National Liberal Party (PNL), number one in the interim government
in Bucharest on Wednesday kicked off talks with two parties in an attempt to
forge a Parliament majority. After this round of talks with USR, a former
ruling partner, Liberal president Florin Citu said there are chances to rebuild
the right wing coalition that ruled Romania after the election. He said the
latest round of talks focused on the principles and the programme of ruling. In
turn USR leader, Dacian Cilos said that he felt there are opportunities for
rebuilding the coalition but that he is waiting for a clear answer from the
Liberals. The PNL is going to hold talks with the Social Democrats (PSD) the
largest Parliamentarian group on Thursday, as they are considering the idea of
joining the ruling coalition. Talks are underway after the liberal leadership
has opted for a more flexible negotiation process as the Prime Minister
designate Nicolae Ciuca failed to muster support for a minority PNL-UDMR
cabinet and had to step down.

AID The difficult situation hospitals in Romania are presently
in has prompted many countries to come to their assistance. On Tuesday, Israel
sent in ten oxygen concentrators, the first in a batch of 40. The devices will
be distributed to medical units that treat Covid patients. According to Radio
Romania correspondent to Jerusalem, Dragos Ciocarlan, Israel is going to
dispatch a team of IC experts for Covid-19 to help the medical personnel in
Romania. Romania has also received support consisting of medicines, equipment
and medical staff from European countries like the Netherlands, Poland, Italy,
Denmark and the Republic of Moldova. Patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, who
were in a critical condition, were transferred to medical units in Germany for
treatment. Both Austria and Hungary have taken over patients to be cared for in
their hospitals. 22 of these have died and 7 have already left hospitals.

REACTORS Romania will be the first
country in the world where the US is going to implement the technology of small
modular nuclear reactors. The Romanian president, Klaus Iohannis, and the United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, established, on Tuesday evening, at the climate
summit in Scotland that, by 2028, Romania should include this type of reactors
in the national energy production system. A White House statement writes that
this collaboration will create up to 30,000 jobs in the two countries.
President Iohannis underlined that this type of cooperation on several levels -
development of technologies, production, services – must be extended to other
areas as well. He also pointed out that this close collaboration in the field
of climate change will add to the successful cooperation between Romania and
the US in many other sectors and will contribute to the consolidation of the
Strategic Bilateral Partnership.

(bill)

3 November 2021
03/11/2021 (mise à jour)

Coronavirus — 10 196 nouveaux cas d’infection au coronavirus dépistés en 24 h ont été annoncés mercredi en Roumanie ainsi que 449 décès liés à la Covid-19, et deux antérieurs à la période de référence. Plus de 19 000 personnes atteintes de Covid sont hospitalisées, dont 1 890 en soins intensifs. Bucarest, la capitale, reste la ville la plus touchée, avec un taux d’incidence de près de 13 cas par 1 000 habitants survenus en 14 jours, annonce aussi la Direction de santé publique. Ce taux est toutefois à la baisse pour le 12e jour consécutif, vu que le 22 octobre, il avait atteint un niveau maximum de plus de 16 cas par mille habitants. Bien que le nombre des cas de maladie soit à la baisse, le système sanitaire restera sous pression pendant encore au moins deux semaines, mettent en garde les autorités. La manager de crise de l’OMS en Roumanie, Heather Papowitz, recommande aux autorités de dresser un plan d’action très clair pour stopper la pandémie, avec des objectifs et des éléments clairs. Elle estime aussi que la vaccination est la seule solution. Détails après nos infos.

Aide — Vu la situation difficile des hôpitaux roumains, plusieurs pays ont décidé de venir en aide à la Roumanie. Mardi, le pays a reçu une tranche de 10 concentrateurs d’oxygène, sur les 40 concentrateurs offerts par Israël. L’Etat hébreu enverra à Bucarest une équipe de spécialistes en soins intensifs pour lutter contre le Covid-19 afin d’aider les soignants, apprend-on par le correspondant de Radio Roumanie à Jérusalem, Dragoş Ciocârlan. Les Pays-Bas, la Pologne, l’Italie, le Danemark ou encore la République de Moldova ont aidé la Roumanie par des dons consistant en médicaments, équipement médical ou par du personnel médical. Des patients atteints de Covid-19 en état grave ont été transférés vers des hôpitaux d’Allemagne, d’Autriche et de Hongrie. Jusqu’ici, 73 patients roumains sont soignés à l’étranger. 22 sont décédés, et 7 ont guéri.

Gouvernement — Le Parti national libéral (PNL) a lancé ce mercredi des négociations avec deux partis, afin de réunir une majorité potentielle au parlement. Le président libéral, Florin Cîţu, a déclaré, à l’issue de la rencontre avec les représentants de l’Union Sauvez la Roumanie (USR), ancien partenaire dans la coalition gouvernementale, qu’il y avait de fortes chances de réfection de la coalition de droite issue des dernières élections. Il a précisé que les discussions avaient porté sur des principes, et aussi sur le programme de gouvernance. A son tour, le leader de l’USR, Dacian Cioloş, a affirmé avoir senti qu’il y avait de la disponibilité pour refaire la coalition, mais qu’il attendait une réponse claire de la part des libéraux. Jeudi, le PNL devrait rencontrer aussi le PSD (d’opposition, qui a le plus grand groupe parlementaire). Le PSD considère la possibilité d’entrer au gouvernement, mais n’exclut en fait aucun scénario. Ces discussions ont lieu après que les libéraux ont décidé d’être plus flexibles dans les négociations, vu que le premier ministre désigné Nicolae Ciucă, n’a pas réussi à obtenir le soutien parlementaire pour un éventuel cabinet minoritaire formé des membres du PNL et de l’Union démocrate magyare de Roumanie (UDMR). Il a déposé son mandat. Détails après nos infos.

Nucléaire — La Roumanie sera le premier pays au monde où les Etats-Unis mettront en place la technologie des réacteurs nucléaires modulaires de petites dimensions. Cela a été convenu mardi soir, par le chef de l’Etat roumain, Klaus Iohannis, et le représentant spécial du président américain pour le climat, John Kerry, lors du sommet pour le climat qui se tient à Glasgow, en Ecosse. Concrètement, d’ici 2028, la Roumanie doit inclure dans son système national de production d’énergie nucléaire ce type de réacteur. Selon un communiqué de la Maison Blanche, cette coopération entraînera la création d’environ 30 000 emplois dans les deux pays. Ce type de coopération à plusieurs niveaux — développement de technologies, production, services — doit être élargi à d’autres domaines aussi, a opiné le président roumain. Qui plus est, cette coopération dans le domaine du climat viendra compléter la collaboration à succès qui existe déjà entre la Roumanie et les Etats-Unis dans de nombreux autres secteurs et contribuera au renforcement du Partenariat Stratégique bilatéral, a encore ajouté Klaus Iohannis.

Chômage — En Roumanie, le taux de chômage a diminué de 0,2 % en septembre par rapport à août 2021, arrivant à 5 % de la population. Le taux de chômage parmi les jeunes reste pourtant très élevé, soit de 19,5 %, constate l’Institut national de la statistique. Pour la tranche d’âge 15-74 ans, le nombre estimé des chômeurs est de 416 000 personnes. Par ailleurs, 300 000 nouveaux emplois ont été créés en Roumanie au cours des 10 premiers mois de cette année, soit environ 10 000 de plus que l’année dernière. Rien qu’en septembre dernier, plus de 37 000 nouveaux emplois ont été annoncés en Roumanie, apprend-on par la plate-forme d’emplois e-Jobs. La plupart des offres ont été lancées à Bucarest, la capitale, mais aussi à Cluj-Napoca (nord-ouest), Timisoara (ouest) et Brasov (centre). Pour ce qui est des emplois proposés par d’autres pays, la plupart des offres visaient l’Allemagne, le Royaume-Uni, les Pays-Bas, l’Irlande et la France, dans des domaines tels les transports, la production, le BTP, le secteur sanitaire et les prestations de services.

3 November 2021
Taux élevé de décès des suites de la covid

Depuis des semaines déjà, la Roumanie bat tous les records en matière de nombre d’infections au virus SARS CoV 2 et de décès des suites de la maladie. Mardi, durant leur bilan quotidien, les autorités ont rapporté près de 600 décès à cause de la Covid 19 en 24 heures, dont la plupart parmi des personnes non-vaccinées. Les spécialistes estiment que le nombre des décès restera élevé dans les jours à venir aussi puisque la capacité maximum des sections de réanimation – soins intensifs a été épuisée et l’état de nombreux malades est déjà critique. En échange, le grand nombre de nouveaux cas annoncé par les autorités semble baisser alors que les hôpitaux à travers le pays soignent près de 20 000 malades, y compris des enfants.

Entre temps, nombre d’Etats envoient des aides à la Roumanie et même dans de telles conditions, le secrétaire d’Etat au ministère de l’Intérieur, Raed Arafat, affirme que l’impact de la pandémie sur le système médical sera très sérieux durant les deux à trois semaines à venir : « La baisse du nombre de nouveaux cas d’infection ne devrait pas nous tromper. Au moins les deux à trois semaines à venir, nous pouvons nous attendre à un nombre significatif de malades hospitalisés dans des sections de réanimation – soins intensifs et dans les unités d’urgences. C’est pourquoi nous continuons ces actions et je peux dire que nous comptons toujours sur un nombre élevé de Roumains à se faire vacciner, parmi ceux qui ne l’ont pas fait déjà, afin de prévenir des situations similaires à celle dans laquelle nous nous retrouvons actuellement. Donc nous nous attendons toujours à un impact sérieux sur le secteur sanitaire qui devrait continuer au moins deux ou trois semaines » a déclaré Raed Rafat.

Le coordinateur de la campagne nationale d’immunisation, Valeriu Gheorghita affirme pourtant que le nombre des décès devrait rester élevé à l’avenir aussi parce qu’il existe un décalage de deux semaines entre la baisse du nombre de personnes qui se font infecter et la baisse du nombre de personnes qui meurent à cause de la maladie. Le médecin a précisé qu’en Roumanie, le taux des décès est de beaucoup supérieur à celui des autres Etats européens, ou la couverture vaccinale est significativement plus élevée : « La moyenne des décès au cours des sept derniers jours par un million d’habitants et plus de 50 fois supérieure à celle enregistrée au Danemark, qui a une couverture vaccinale de plus de 80% et de près de 68 fois supérieure en Roumanie par rapport au Portugal, pays où la couverture vaccinale dépassé les 90% » affirme Valeriu Gheorgita, médecin militaire et coordinateur de la campagne nationale d’immunisation en Roumanie.

Selon les chiffres officiels, après une courte période de revirement, l’intérêt des Roumains pour la vaccination a malheureusement commencé à chuter à nouveau. Les autorités ont annoncé mardi moins de 80 000 vaccinations en 24 heures et le nombre des personnes à avoir pris la première dose a baissé à moins de la moitié du nombre record enregistré il y a une semaine seulement. A présent, seulement 36,5% de la population de la Roumanie est entièrement vaccinée.

3 November 2021
October 31, 2021 UPDATE

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

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

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

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

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

(bill)

31 October 2021
October 30, 2021 UPDATE

GOVERNMENT The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies on Saturday decided
that the ministers proposed by Prime Minister designate, Liberal Nicolae Ciuca
be heard by the specialised committees on Tuesday and sworn in by Parliament a
day later. The Prime Minister designate, retired General Nicolae Ciuca, on
Saturday submitted to Parliament a list of his cabinet and ruling programme,
which includes, among other things emergency measures aimed at settling
Romania’s health crisis and offsetting the latest soaring prices in energy. The
National Liberal Party has opted for a minority government jointly with the
UDMR, which presently lacks the support it needs for the right number of votes
in the Legislature. The Prime Minister designate has voiced hope the cabinet proposed
by him will be endorsed by Parliament adding that the talks with the other
parties must continue until the last moment. Pundits believe though that a
rejection of the Ciuca cabinet would pave the way for snap election although
the Constitution allows president Iohannis to propose a third Prime
Minister.

COVID-19 Roughly 89 people have got the anti-Covid
vaccine in the past 24 hours in Romania, out of whom 57 thousand got the first
jab. The number of those fully vaccinated in Romania has exceeded 6.2 million
and the vaccine rollout has been given such a boost of late making the
authorities to predict that if this pace maintained until the end of the year
Romania could have a rate of 70% vaccinated. Over 12,100 new infections were
reported on Saturday as well as 413 fatalities. Roughly 20 thousand people are
currently being treated in hospitals, out of whom 1858 in ICUs. A medical team
from Germany has arrived in Romania to asses Covid-infected patients who can be
treated in hospitals in that country and an aircraft belonging to German air
forces has been made available for the transport of these patients. In another
development, Romania is to receive next week a batch of 10 thousand monoclonal
antibodies as part of the contract the European Commission has signed with the
producer, Romania’s Health Minister Andrei Baciu has announced. The country’s
National Committee for Emergency Situations has also updated the list of
countries and territories with a high-risk of infection with the Netherlands
and Russia in the red tier. In the yellow zone there are Malaysia, Cuba, Costa
Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein
and Jordan.

TENNIS Romanian Simona Halep on Saturday qualified for the finals of the
Transylvania Open underway in Cluj, north-western Romania. The competition’s
odds-on favourite, Halep has outperformed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-0, 6-1 and
will be up against Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in the finals. Also on Saturday,
the Romania-Georgian pair Irina Bara/Ekaterina Gorgodze qualified for the
finals after a 6-3, 2-6, 10-7 win against Romanian pair Irina Begu/Andreea
Mitu.

FIRE On Saturday Romania commemorated 6
years since the blaze that ripped through the Colectiv night club in Bucharest
killing 65. Another 150 wounded in the fire caused by fireworks during a rock
concert on October 30th 2015, are still being treated for the wounds
they suffered. Religious services and wreath laying ceremonies were held on
Saturday to the memory of those who lost their lives in the disaster. The
survivors, relatives of the victims together with representatives of the civil
society have called into attention the fact that little has changed in the
country’s healthcare system since then. Six years on from the tragedy, the
survivors who are still undergoing treatment, have pointed to the fact that the
infections in hospitals around Romania are still unreported and unmonitored.
Romania still lacks burn care facilities for the treatment and recovery of
those who suffered severe burns. The court trial opened shortly after the event
is still underway.

(bill)

31 October 2021
Nouvelles restrictions anti-covid en Roumanie

Ces mesures
interviennent sur le fond de la situation épidémiologique la plus
grave à laquelle se confronte la Roumanie depuis le début de la
pandémie avec des centaines de décès des suites de la Covid
rapportés quotidiennement, plus de 20 000 malades hospitalisés, un
système de réanimation dépassé par la situation et des soignants
tout simplement épuisés. Dans un effort visant à réduire la
pression sur le système médical, à travers le pays, les autorités
ont conditionné la plupart des activités de l’obligation de
présenter le certificat numérique vert. L’accès dans les
institutions publiques, les restaurants, les théâtres et les salles
de cinéma se fera uniquement en vertu de ce document, délivre aux
personnes qui se sont fait vacciner, qui s’étaient infectées par le
passé ou bien qui ont été testées récemment. Pourtant l’accès
aux centres commerciaux est limité uniquement aux personnes
vaccinées ou immunisées naturellement par la maladie.

Au cours des
prochains 30 jours, les personnes non-vaccinées pourront accéder
uniquement aux pharmacies et aux magasins alimentaires, y compris
aux supermarchés, tout en respectant la distance de sécurité et
les normes sanitaires. Les événements privés, tels les fêtes de
mariage et de baptême sont interdits et le port du masque est
obligatoire partout, a précisé le secrétaire d’État Raed Arafat
: « Pour les personnes non-vaccinées certains endroits seront
difficilement accessibles, sinon inaccessibles. Par exemple il n’est
pas possible d’aller à l’intérieur d’un restaurant. Afin d’entrer
dans une institution publique, les personnes non-immunisées, par
vaccin ou par infection, doivent présenter le résultat négatif
d’un test de dépistage. » a déclaré Raed Arafat.

Un couvre
feu a également été institué de 22 heures à 5 heures du matin. Y
sont exceptées les personnes vaccinées ou infectées par le passé,
les urgences et les déplacements pour des raisons professionnelles.
Ce qui plus est, les institutions et entreprises, publiques et
privées, où travaillent au moins 50 personnes dans le même espace
doivent réorganiser les flux de travail afin de limiter
l’interaction entre les salariés. Et afin de limiter justement le
nombre d’infections au coronavirus, les élèves des maternelles,
écoles et lycées sont désormais en vacances pour deux semaines.
Cette mesure concerne pour le moment les institutions d’enseignement
public et les centres d’enseignement d’école après école. Seules
les crèches restent ouvertes. Toutes les activités publiques se
déroulent désormais sans public.

Les nouvelles restrictions ont
provoqué certains mécontentements et quelques protestations ont eu
lieu dimanche dans la soirée dans le centre de la Capitale roumaine,
notamment devant le siège du gouvernement et du ministère de la
Santé.

Entre temps, l’intérêt des Roumains pour la vaccination
semble être revenu à cause soit de la situation épidémiologique
grave, soit des restrictions imposées. Suite à l’organisation de
plusieurs opérations de vaccination-marathon organisées ce week-end
à Bucarest, la Roumanie a atteint le seuil de 40% de personnes
vaccinées contre la covid parmi la population de plus de 18 ans , a
annoncé le coordinateur de la campagne nationale d’immunisation, le
médecin Valeriu Gheorghiță.

25 October 2021
New restrictions announced in Romania

The state has failed in the mission to protect its
citizens, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis has recently said admitting that preparations
for the pandemic’s fourth wave were faulty and the vaccine rollout sluggish.

Klaus Iohannis: This is a
period of suffering, a national drama of huge proportions. However, we have no
other options but to overcome it. The key priority now is to save our people,
to protect the health of those vulnerable and sick, whom medical assistance can
help overcome this pandemic.

Iohannis summoned all government officials involved in
the anti-Covid campaign on Wednesday to take new restrictive and prevention
measures. Stepping up the country’s vaccine rollout is the only solution to
stop the pandemic, the president says while describing the present situation as
a medical catastrophe. According to him, urgent decisions are needed for the
short-term reduction of mobility and human interaction. President Iohannis

Klaus Iohannis: It is regrettable,
but we must impose restrictions, which are going into effect as of Monday. The
government is to make a decision on what restrictions to apply shortly, on
Friday at the latest, after the National committee and experts in the field
have established all the details of these laws and put them in legal language,
of course. I only want to give a couple of examples – we are going to have
another night curfew and only those vaccinated and those involved in legal
activities will be allowed to travel at night. And only those presenting a
green certificate will be able to attend most of the daytime activities,
whereas those unvaccinated unfortunately are going to face a series of
restrictions. This situation is going to improve as soon as people have
understood to get the vaccine and we have got rid of this pandemic. Until then,
we wish you all to stay in good health!

Outdoor mask mandates are to come into effect also on
Monday while students in Romania’s education system have been given a two-week
holiday.

Romania has this week reported record numbers of
infections and fatalities caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Since the vaccine
rollout kicked off in Romania, in late December 2020, over 6 million people
have got the jab, way below the target initially set by the authorities.

21 October 2021
October 15, 2021

COVID-19 Romania has run out of places
in its ICU’s treating Covid -19 infections. 17,600 people are currently being
treated in hospitals around the country out of which 17 hundred are in
intensive care. The Defence Ministry has decided to increase the number of beds
in all military hospitals across the country. Romania’s interim Health
Minister, Cseke Attila, has announced that more ICUs will be added to
Bucharest, which presently has scores of severe cases. According to him, 8
infected patients have already been transferred to clinics in Hungary and the
transfer of infected patients is going to continue today. Also today the
National Committee for Emergency situations is expected to make a decision upon
the proposal of the National Public Health Institute (INSP) over instating
quarantine in Bucharest and its surroundings, which yesterday reported roughly
4 thousand new cases. The INSP recommends that all activities be interrupted in
these localities and circulation restricted for two weeks to limit the rapid
spread of the virus. The Prime Minister says that he is not considering such a
solution for the moment but an alternative solution that would be imposing the
green certificate in the institutions which have an increased contact with
people.

TALKS Romania’s Prime Minister
designate, Dacian Ciolos, is today having a new round of talks in an attempt to
rebuild the ruling coalition with the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the
Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR). The first round of talks
ended with no concrete result and Ciolos announced his plan B: a USR ruling
programme as well as a list of ministers for the new cabinet, which he intends
to present to Parliament next week. The interim Prime Minister and PNL leader
Florin Citu says that the coalition cannot be rebuilt but around the PNL. He
continues to criticize the USR for its contribution to dismantling the
country’s government during the pandemic saying, quote, ‘the USR must admit its
mistake and we must move further’ unquote. The USR, number two in the former
ruling coalition, has made new appeals to responsibility concerning the PNL and
UDMR. Kelemen Hunor, the head of the UDMR, said after the first round of talks
that the goal at this moment is the solution to the present pressing issues,
namely the pandemic, the energy prices, inflation and the National Plan of
Recovery and Resilience, either in a government formula or another. The main
opposition party PSD says that Romania needs snap elections, and that a
technocratic government can handle the medical crisis and the country’s economy
until those elections.

GAMING Romanian capital Bucharest is these days playing
venue for the world’s major electronic games competition Dota 2’s. The event
will culminate with the grand finale on October 17th involving the
participation of the world’s best sides out of the 18 participating. According
to organizers, the tournament will be available online to 10 million
spectators. Romania is going to receive 16% out of the total prizes of 40
million dollars. The World Gaming Championship, which is being hosted by the
National Arena in Bucharest, is going without spectators this year due to the
Covid-19 pandemic.

ATTACK A man suspected of having
killed 5 people in Norway by shooting arrows at them is to be brought before
court today. Espen Andersen Brathenl is a Danish citizen who converted to Islam
and lives in the city of Kongsberg, where he committed the crimes. According to
sources he has admitted his crime, which the authorities have described as a
terror attack. Bratheln has also served convictions in the past.

(bill)

16 October 2021
October 14, 2021

TALKS Romania’s Prime Minister designate and USR leader,
Dacian Ciolos, is waiting until Friday for an answer from his former ruling
partners PNL and UDMR in order to forge a new ruling coalition. Ciolos says that
he wishes what he describes as ‘a ballet of political entertainment in which
politicians are more important than the outcome’ to come to an end. On
Wednesday Ciolos had a first round of talks with PNL and UDMR representatives
with a view to building a government majority and the previous one made up of
PNL, USR and UDMR was dismantled after the USR had left the coalition and
endorsed a censure motion against the cabinet led by the Liberal Florin Citu.
If the three former ruling partners cannot reach an agreement, USR doesn’t rule
out the idea of a minority government made up of its own members.

COVID-19
According to the National Centre for the Supervision
and Control of Infectious Diseases in Bucharest, 94% of the deaths caused by
the coronavirus over October 4th and 10th consisted of
patients with related comorbidities while 73% of the confirmed cases and 91% of
the registered fatalities consisted of unvaccinated individuals. Authorities in
Romania on Wednesday announced over 15,700 new infections as well as 390
fatalities. At least 1670 people are in ICUs and the highest infection rates
have been reported by capital city Bucharest and Timis county, in western
Romania. Doctors in Romania have called on the population to get the vaccine
and observe prevention rules.

BUDGET The Executive in Bucharest has today approved a
bigger budget for the Health Ministry out of the budget reserves made available
to the government. Roughly 2 million Euros are to be spent for the purchase of
the Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis vaccine – DTPA included in the national
vaccination timetable. The government is also expected to endorse a measure on
using the state reserves to fit some anti-Covid vaccination centers with the
proper equipment. Also today the government has approved a memorandum over the
305 million funding contract between Romania and the European Investment Bank
for building a regional emergency hospital in Cluj, north-western Romania.

SPORT Romania’s handball champions, Dinamo Bucharest, will tonight be playing
FC Barcelona in the Champions League group B. This is a special game as
Dinamo’s headcoach Xavi Pascual had coached the Spanish side for 12 years.
Dinamo started off on the right foot with a win against Polish side Viva
Kielce, but lost to PSG of France and to FC Porto.

INVESTMENT Direct foreign investment
reached 4.4 billion Euros in the first 8 months this year as compared to 1.4
billion in the same period of 2020, a 197% increase, according to Romania’s
Central Bank. On the other hand, in the first eight months of the year, the
country’s foreign debt rose by more than 8.4 billion Euros exceeding 135.2
billion Euros. The number of newly-established companies with foreign capital
rose in the first eight months by 44% as compared to the similar period last
year, data released by the National Registry Office says. Most of these
enterprises are operating in the retail market, car and motorcycle service,
professional, administrative, technical and scientific activities as well as in
storage and transportation.

(bill)

14 October 2021
October 13, 2021 UPDATE

TALKS Romania’s Prime Minister designate, USR leader Dacian Ciolos said that
no decision was made during the first round of talks he had on Wednesday with
representatives of the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Democratic Union of
Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) and of the national minorities with a view
to building up a government majority. A new meeting is going to take place on
Friday. Ciolos says he wants to forge a government as soon as possible to be
able to tackle the issues related to the pandemic and the soaring energy
prices. According to Ciolos, the USR sees no majority format except for that
involving the PNL, UDMR and the representatives of the minorities in Romania.
According to interim Prime Minister and Liberal leader Florin Citu, the responsibility
for a majority lies with the USR, PSD and AUR who voted the PSD censure motion
that led to the dismantling of his cabinet. In turn, UDMR leader Kelemen Hunor
has signaled the lack of trust and recommended politicians to put
self-importance aside.

HOLOCAUST Romanian president Klaus Iohannis attended an International Forum
dedicated to the commemoration of the Holocaust and combating anti-Semitism in
Malmo, Sweden, on Wednesday. In his speech Iohannis said quote, ‘attempts at
denying and distorting the Holocaust have lately turned increasingly subtle and
dangerous in order to downplay the responsibility of the participants and their
cronies as well as the suffering inflicted on the victims.’ President Iohannis
says that Romania has been involved in an ample process of revising the
education programmes about the Holocaust with its young generation. The
Romanian official has also mentioned the efforts underway for the inauguration
in Romania of the National History Museum of the Jews and the Holocaust.

COVID-19 According to the National
Centre for the Supervision and Control of Infectious Diseases in Bucharest, 94%
of the deaths caused by the coronavirus over October 4th and 10th
consisted of patients with related comorbidities while 73% of the confirmed
cases and 91% of the registered fatalities consisted of unvaccinated
individuals. Authorities in Romania on Wednesday announced over 15,700 new
infections as well as 390 fatalities. At least 1670 people are in ICUs and the
highest infection rates have been reported by capital city Bucharest and Timis
county, in western Romania. Doctor Adrian Marinescu, with the Bucharest-based
Institute for Infectious Diseases, says that he expects the entire month of
October to be very difficult from the viewpoint of the medical crisis but
believes the situation will improve and the upcoming winter holidays are going
to be peaceful.

AID
Hungary will help Romania to treat 50 patients infected with Covid-19 who are
in need of intensive care, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto was
quoted by MTI as saying on Wednesday. The 50 patients are to be treated in two
hospitals in Hungary. According to the Hungarian official, Hungary has already
donated ventilators and favipiravir, an
anti-viral drug used in treating Covid 19. Poland has offered 50 oxygen
concentrators while Italy has donated five thousand doses of monoclonal
anti-bodies also used in the treatment of the disease. We recall that
authorities in Romania had called for international assistance in their efforts
to keep the pandemic at bay.

(bill)

13 October 2021
23.08.2021 (mise à jour)

Covid en Roumanie -
415 nouveaux cas d’infection au virus SARS CoV 2 ont été enregistrés au cours
des 24 dernières heures, après plus de 15 000 tests, a rapporté ce lundi le
Groupe de communication stratégique. La majorité des nouveaux cas de covid
confirmés ont été recensés dans la capitale, Bucarest – 56, dans les
départements de Cluj (centre) – 50, Ilfov (sud) – 33 et Constanta (sud-est) -
23. 13 personnes ont perdu la vie des suites de la Covid-19 de dimanche à lundi.
Depuis le début de la pandémie, environ 34 500 personnes infectées au SARS-CoV-2
sont décédées en Roumanie. L’intégralité du territoire de la Roumanie reste en
zone verte, mais le taux d’incidence de la Covid au niveau national est à la
hausse. 1 378 personnes infectées sont toujours hospitalisées, dont 193 en
réanimation – soins intensifs. Ce qui plus est, 60.730 personnes sont en
quarantaine à domicile et 74 en quarantaine dans des espaces spécialement
destinés. Près de 4000 malades sont en isolement à domicile et 1 420 sont en isolement
dans des institutions spécialisées. Entre temps, le rythme de la vaccination au
niveau national demeure assez bas. La Roumanie a franchi le seuil des 5
millions de personnes pleinement vaccinées.

Crimée – La Roumanie a été
et restera un « ferme » partisan de la souveraineté et de l’intégrité
territoriale de l’Ukraine et restera fermement engagée dans la mise en place de
la politique de non-reconnaissance de l’annexion « illégale » de la
Crimée par la Fédération de Russie. Cette déclaration a été faite lundi, par le
premier ministre roumain, Florin Cîţu, en ouverture du Sommet de lancement de
la plate-forme internationale Crimée. Il a également souligné que la Roumanie
soutenait les aspirations de l’Ukraine de devenir membre de la communauté
européenne et euro-atlantique. La réponse aux menaces à l’adresse de la
stabilité et de la sécurité dans la région de la Mer Noire est de renforcer les
démocraties de la zone et d’encourager le dialogue et la coopération, estime le
chef du gouvernement roumain. La Plateforme internationale Crimée est un
évènement initié par l’Ukraine afin de consolider sa politique de ne pas
reconnaitre l’annexion de la Crimée par la Russie et de faciliter sa
récupération. 44 Etats et organisations internationales sont présents à l’évènement,
y compris 14 chefs d’Etat, de gouvernement et représentants de l’UE. Selon les
responsables de Kiev, la militarisation de la péninsule et la politique
agressive de Moscou dans la région visent tous les pays riverains à la mer
Noire. La Roumanie est représentée par le premier ministre Florin Cîţu et par
le ministre des AE Bogdan Aurescu. A cette occasion, Florin Cîţu s’est
entretenu lundi avec le Secrétaire américain en charge de l’Energie, Jennifer
Granholm, sur le partenariat pour les projets nucléaires et sur l’engagement de
la Roumanie en ce qui concerne la coopération en matière d’énergie. Il a aussi
rencontré son homologue ukrainien, Denys Shmyhal, lui réitérant la
disponibilité de Bucarest d’avancer dans la coopération bilatérales et son
désir que les droits de la minorité roumaine d’Ukraine soient respectés.

23 août -
L’infâme Pacte Ribbentrop – Molotov, signé le 23 août 1939 a constitué le début
de la tragédie en Europe, un moment qui a ouvert la voie vers des abus fatals
et a rompu des territoires par le partage de l’Europe centrale et orientale en
sphères d’influence, a déclaré le président roumain Klaus Iohannis, lundi, à
l’occasion de la journée de commémoration des victimes du fascisme et du
communisme. Le soi-disant pacte de non-agression a brisé les espoirs et les
idéaux des nations européennes ouvrant la voie à la seconde guerre mondiale et
ses conséquences désastreuses pour toute l’Humanité, fait savoir le message
présidentiel. Le chef de l’Etat a également évoqué l’acte courageux du Roi
Michel Ier du 23 août 1944, qui, étant loyal à la nation roumaine et faisant
preuve de responsabilité et d’hardiesse, a réussi, à l’aide de l’armée roumaine,
à rompre l’alliance toxique avec l’Allemagne nazie. « Gardons vivante la
leçon de ce moment important d’habileté politique, symbole de verticalité,
d’unité et d’honnêteté », a rappelé Klaus Iohannis. Le 23 août, le jour de
la signature du le pacte Ribbentrop-Molotov, est depuis 2008 la Journée
européenne de la commémoration des victimes du nazisme et du communisme, selon
une déclaration du Parlement européen.
En 2011, le Parlement roumain a déclaré lui aussi le 23 août « Journée
de commémoration des victimes du fascisme et du communisme ».

Théâtre -
Ce lundi, 27 événements liés aux arts du spectacle étaient prévus a à l’affiche
du 4e jour du Festival
international de théâtre de Sibiu (centre). Une centaine de spectacles et
autres événements ont réuni durant les trois premiers jours du festival
plusieurs dizaines de milliers de spectateurs du monde entier, dans des salles
de spectacles, en plein air et dans l’espace virtuel. Sous le slogan «
Construisons l’espoir ensemble », le festival réunit jusqu’au 29 août plus de 2
mille artistes de 38 pays.C’est
le plus grand événement consacré aux arts de Roumanie et un des plus importants
d’Europe.

Météo
– La météo deviendra peu à peu instable en Roumanie, notamment dans l’ouest et
le nord-ouest, où l’on attend des pluies torrentielles, des orages et de la
grêle. Les maxima de mari iront de 22 à 34 degrés. On attend du beau temps et
33 degrés à midi à Bucarest.

23 August 2021