COVID-19 IN ROMANIA -
3,474 new cases of COVID-19 infection have been reported in the last 24 hours,
the Group for Strategic Communication announced on Saturday. During the interval,
135 fatalities were also reported. 1,505 patients are currently in intensive
care. A quarter of Romania’s counties remain in the red zone, reporting an incidence
rate over 3 per thousand inhabitants. Meanwhile the vaccination campaign
continues. People who want to get the AstraZeneca jab without an appointment
can now do so. According to Prime Minister Florin Cîţu, Romania is expected to
hit the 35% mark in early June in terms of the total number of people who’ve
got immunized, which will allow for a gradual relaunch of the economy. The
Prime Minister said herd immunity will be achieved when 70% of the total
population gets immunized, which in Romania is tantamount to some 10 million
people.
RATING -
Standard and Poor’s financial rating agency has confirmed Romania’s BBB- rating
but improved its prospect from negative to stable. According to the Finance
Ministry, this is the first positive evolution in Romania’s financial rating
operated by this agency since November 2013. Standard and Poor’s says the
stable prospect is indicative of the credibility of fiscal consolidation
measures promoted by Romania. The agency also believes the Government’s planned
reforms could create a more robust fiscal framework, thus limiting the risks of
reversing fiscal consolidation policies, which would lead to an improvement in
Romania’s rating.
DIPLOMACY -
Romania’s Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, hailed the decision of the EU High
Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, to appoint Romanian Dan
Steonescu as the head of the EU Delegation to Syria, headquartered in Beirut.
The appointment comes as an official recognition at EU level of Romania’s
expertise in the Middle East, as well as its diplomatic skills, Aurescu said.
According to a Foreign Ministry release, stabilizing Syria is key to the
security of the entire region, while stepping up efforts to solve the crisis at
political level remains a priority for the EU and the international community.
A career diplomat with a wide experience in the Middle East, Dan Stoenescu has
served as Romania’s ambassador in Tunisia since 2017. In 2015-2016 he was
Minister Delegate for Romanians Worldwide. He previously worked for Romania’s
embassies in Madrid and Beirut. Another four Romanians are currently part of
the EU delegation: Oana Popa in Montenegro, Denisa Ionete in Nigeria, Traian
Hristea in Mongolia and Cristian Tudor in Kuwait.
TENNIS -
Romania is playing Italy in the playoffs of World Group of the Billie Jean King
Cup. In the women’s singles, Irina Bara is today playing Martina Trevisan,
while Mihaela
Buzărnescu will take on Elisabetta Cocciaretto, while in the doubles Monica
Niculescu and Elena-Gabriela Ruse will play Jasmine Paolini and Giulia
Gatto-Monticone. Italy leads 2-nil after Friday’s matches, when Trevisan
defeated Buzărnescu 6-2, 2-6, 7-6, while Cocciaretto defeated Bara 6-1, 6-4.
Simona Halep and Patricia Ţig couldn’t play for Romania, both injured, while Camilia Giorgi,
the best-rated Italian player, tested positive for COVID-19. The team that wins
the playoffs will play in the World Group qualifiers for 2022, while the other
team in Group 1 in the Euro-Africa Zone.
HANDBALL – Romania are facing North
Macedonia on Saturday in Bucharest in the first leg of the 2021 World
Championship play-offs in women’s handball. The return match is due to take
place on April 21, in Skopje. Commentators say booking a place should not be a
problem, given that the number of participants grew to 32. The tournament will
be hosted by Spain. Europe has 50% of the available places. Romania is yet to
miss a women’s World Championship, where it has won four medals over the years:
gold in 1962, silver in 1973 and 2005 and bronze in 2015. (V.P.)