Radio România Internațional

Tag: variant

  • November 18, 2021

    November 18, 2021

    Government. The
    Social Democrats and the Liberals may resume today negotiations on the
    structure and governing programme of the new Cabinet they intend to form
    jointly with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians. While both parties agreed to the idea of a rotation government, Wednesday’s
    talks were suspended as each party insisted on being the first to designate the
    prime minister. The Social Democrats nominated their president, Marcel Ciolacu,
    who promised his cabinet would be in office as early as next week. In turn, the
    Liberals want their own leader and interim PM to stay in office, although he
    was dismissed last month in a no-confidence vote. Two subsequent attempts
    at forming a minority government failed, and President Klaus Iohannis has said he will only invite parties to consultations
    after a parliamentary majority is agreed on.


    COVID-19. Romania reported little over 3,000
    new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, as well as 332 related
    fatalities, 76 of them from an earlier date. According to official data, 311 of
    the total number of deaths were reported among unvaccinated patients. More than
    1,600 patients are currently in intensive care. The infection rate across the
    country is dropping, but scores of cities still have incidence rates above 6
    per 1,000 inhabitants. As of Wednesday Romania has over
    7 million fully vaccinated citizens.


    Vaccination. The
    digital COVID certificate and the vaccine are our main instruments in fighting
    the pandemic, and we must use them, the European Commissioner for internal
    market Thierry Breton said while on an official visit to Bucharest. He
    emphasised Europeans are rather lucky to have an effective vaccine against the
    virus available. The EU official also said the low vaccination rate jeopardises
    Romanians’ health and is a barrier to the full recovery of Romania and of the
    EU as a whole. During his meeting with the interim health minister Cseke
    Attila, the 2 officials discussed the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the vaccine
    supply and the measures taken by member states with respect to the digital
    certificate. Thierry Breton will also have a meeting with president Klaus Iohannis
    later today.


    Pandemic. A new COVID-19 wave hit
    the centre and west of Europe, with nearly 53,000 new cases reported in 24
    hours in Germany, 25,000 in Poland, 20,000 in France, 14,000 in Austria, 10,000
    in Hungary. The Netherlands also announced a 44% increase this week compared to
    the previous one. Restrictions are once again introduced, especially against
    the unvaccinated, which prompts new interest in getting the vaccine. Sweden for
    the first time introduces a green pass to be used as of 1 December for events
    with more than 100 participants. France on the other hand does not plan new
    restrictions.


    Moldova. Chișinău continues to call for the pull-out of
    Russian troops from the east of Moldova, the country’s foreign minister Nicu
    Popescu said in Moscow, at a joint press conference with his Russian
    counterpart Sergey Lavrov. This is a priority of our foreign
    policy, Popescu said, referring to the troops deployed in the breakaway region
    of Transnistria, which Russia’s ex-president Boris Yeltsin undertook to pull
    out as far back as in the 1999 OSCE Summit in Istanbul. The Republic of Moldova
    has had no control on the breakaway region of Transnistria since 1992, after an
    armed conflict that killed hundreds of people was ended by the intervention of
    Russian troops on the side of the separatists. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • November 18, 2021

    November 18, 2021

    Government. The
    Social Democrats and the Liberals may resume today negotiations on the
    structure and governing programme of the new Cabinet they intend to form
    jointly with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians. While both parties agreed to the idea of a rotation government, Wednesday’s
    talks were suspended as each party insisted on being the first to designate the
    prime minister. The Social Democrats nominated their president, Marcel Ciolacu,
    who promised his cabinet would be in office as early as next week. In turn, the
    Liberals want their own leader and interim PM to stay in office, although he
    was dismissed last month in a no-confidence vote. Two subsequent attempts
    at forming a minority government failed, and President Klaus Iohannis has said he will only invite parties to consultations
    after a parliamentary majority is agreed on.


    COVID-19. Romania reported little over 3,000
    new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, as well as 332 related
    fatalities, 76 of them from an earlier date. According to official data, 311 of
    the total number of deaths were reported among unvaccinated patients. More than
    1,600 patients are currently in intensive care. The infection rate across the
    country is dropping, but scores of cities still have incidence rates above 6
    per 1,000 inhabitants. As of Wednesday Romania has over
    7 million fully vaccinated citizens.


    Vaccination. The
    digital COVID certificate and the vaccine are our main instruments in fighting
    the pandemic, and we must use them, the European Commissioner for internal
    market Thierry Breton said while on an official visit to Bucharest. He
    emphasised Europeans are rather lucky to have an effective vaccine against the
    virus available. The EU official also said the low vaccination rate jeopardises
    Romanians’ health and is a barrier to the full recovery of Romania and of the
    EU as a whole. During his meeting with the interim health minister Cseke
    Attila, the 2 officials discussed the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the vaccine
    supply and the measures taken by member states with respect to the digital
    certificate. Thierry Breton will also have a meeting with president Klaus Iohannis
    later today.


    Pandemic. A new COVID-19 wave hit
    the centre and west of Europe, with nearly 53,000 new cases reported in 24
    hours in Germany, 25,000 in Poland, 20,000 in France, 14,000 in Austria, 10,000
    in Hungary. The Netherlands also announced a 44% increase this week compared to
    the previous one. Restrictions are once again introduced, especially against
    the unvaccinated, which prompts new interest in getting the vaccine. Sweden for
    the first time introduces a green pass to be used as of 1 December for events
    with more than 100 participants. France on the other hand does not plan new
    restrictions.


    Moldova. Chișinău continues to call for the pull-out of
    Russian troops from the east of Moldova, the country’s foreign minister Nicu
    Popescu said in Moscow, at a joint press conference with his Russian
    counterpart Sergey Lavrov. This is a priority of our foreign
    policy, Popescu said, referring to the troops deployed in the breakaway region
    of Transnistria, which Russia’s ex-president Boris Yeltsin undertook to pull
    out as far back as in the 1999 OSCE Summit in Istanbul. The Republic of Moldova
    has had no control on the breakaway region of Transnistria since 1992, after an
    armed conflict that killed hundreds of people was ended by the intervention of
    Russian troops on the side of the separatists. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Romanian physicians plead for vaccination

    Romanian physicians plead for vaccination

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


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


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


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


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


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


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

  • Authorities in Romania are bracing up for the Delta-driven fourth wave

    Authorities in Romania are bracing up for the Delta-driven fourth wave

    Romania has exceeded 300 daily
    infections with the novel coronavirus. In spite of the low number of infections
    and the fact that the Delta variant hasn’t yet spread as expected, there are still
    reasons for concern in Romania. Medical authorities here are expecting
    infections with the Delta variant to be on the rise as the number of those
    fully vaccinated has barely reached five million.






    The latest data points to a rising
    number of infections with the novel coronavirus among people below 40, while
    the average age of those killed by the virus has also gone down, from 71 to 69.
    Physician Valeriu Gheorghita, who coordinates Romania’s vaccine rollout, has
    cautioned that although the number of cases remains low, the infection rate is
    steady and progressive. Under a worst-case scenario, in the second half of
    September, Romania could have over 15 hundred daily infections.






    Valeriu Gheorghita: Pessimistic scenarios point to a potential
    increase in the number of infections next month, when we are going to see a
    higher number of daily cases, 15 hundred, 16 hundred in the second half of
    September. Now we are having 9.3 infections per thousand in 14 days but we
    expect this number to double in the next two weeks.






    Valeriu Gheorghita has reiterated that
    the only solution for the containment of this pandemic is vaccination, which can
    protect citizens from severe forms of illnesses.


    In another development, the ruling
    coalition convened on Tuesday to find ways to step up the vaccine rollout in
    this country, which may even include meal vouchers for those fully vaccinated. According
    to Health Minister Ioana Mihaila, these vouchers will be somewhere around 20
    euros.






    Stronger immunity allows citizens
    to better cope with the upcoming Delta-driven fourth wave, but it is the
    responsibility of every Romanian to get the jab in order to minimize the risk
    of being admitted to hospital, the Health Minister went on to say. According to
    her, people must be responsible not only for their health but also for those
    around. ‘It is important to avoid hospital treatment, which may lead to
    overcrowded hospitals and for this we must get the vaccine’, Minister Mihaila
    also added.




    (bill)

  • July 15, 2021 UPDATE

    July 15, 2021 UPDATE

    CEREMONY An airshow part of the military parade next
    week, to mark Romania’s Aviation Day on July 20th and the end of the
    Romanian mission in Afghanistan on July 21st, has been cancelled
    through an order by the Defence Minister. The decision came after the incident
    on Thursday when a US helicopter on a training mission had to make an emergency
    landing in downtown Bucharest. Nobody was wounded in the incident and the
    material damage was low. Only two lampposts fell and damaged cars. The end of
    Romania’s mission in Afghanistan will be marked through a military parade in
    Bucharest by the army structures which carried out various missions in this
    country starting 2002 until June this year, when the last Romanian soldiers
    were repatriated. 27 Romanian servicemen have been killed in action in
    Afghanistan and over 200 have been wounded since the first deployment of
    Romanian troops in this country.








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






    COVID-19 Only 62 new Covid-19 infections were reported on Thursday in Romania out
    of roughly 25 thousand tests conducted. Authorities have also announced three
    Covid-related fatalities. 300 patients are being treated in hospitals and 54 in
    ICUs. In spite of the small number of infections, authorities in Romania are
    fearing the highly-contagious Delta variant, which is to become dominant in autumn.
    In their opinion, the only way to prevent this situation is to vaccinate as
    many people as they possibly can until autumn. Since the vaccine rollout kicked
    off in Romania on December 27th 2020, 4.7 million people have been vaccinated
    in Romania and since authorities are far from being satisfied with the number, they
    have been constantly looking for ways to step up the vaccine rollout in this
    country.








    CLIMATE The European Commission on Wednesday proposed
    ambitious measures to reach its climate goals. Together with the distribution
    of national targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, these are likely to be
    subject of heated debates among the 27 EU member states, Reuters notes. The
    proposals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% compared with 1990 include
    increasing costs for emissions generated by heating, transport and the
    industrial sector, taxing the fuel used in air and naval travel and banning,
    from 2035, the sale of new diesel and petrol cars. In Romania’s case, the
    target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will increase from 2% to 12.7%. The
    plan will be negotiated with member states and the European Parliament.






    (bill)

  • 20/06/2021

    20/06/2021

    Coronavirus — En Roumanie, le nombre de nouveaux cas de contamination au coronavirus continue à baisser. Les autorités ont rapporté dimanche seulement 53 nouveaux cas sur plus de 19 500 tests effectués, et 161 malades de Covid hospitalisés en soins intensifs. Les hôpitaux reprennent petit à petit leurs activités et se disent mieux préparés pour une recrudescence potentielle des cas. Entre temps, les spécialistes tirent la sonnette d’alarme sur le risque d’une quatrième vague pandémique à l’automne. Le ministre de la Santé, Ioana Mihaila, a déclaré que le variant indien du coronavirus pouvait devenir prédominant en Roumanie aussi, il est donc d’autant plus important d’accroître le taux d’immunisation et le pourcentage des personnes vaccinées. Le représentant de la Roumanie auprès de l’OMS, le médecin Alexandru Rafila, affirme que si l’intérêt pour l’immunisation continue de diminuer, seulement 7 millions de Roumains seront complètement vaccinés d’ici la fin de l’année, un chiffre bien inférieur à la cible que les autorités s’étaient proposé d’atteindre. Le nombre de Roumains qui se sont fait vacciner ces 24 dernières heures est de 25 500. Depuis le début de la campagne nationale, le 27 décembre dernier, la Roumanie a utilisé plus de 8 700 000 doses de vaccins et le nombre de Roumains pleinement vaccinés approche les 4 350 000.



    Pentecôte — Les chrétiens orthodoxes et gréco-catholiques du monde entier, y compris de Roumanie, célèbrent aujourd’hui la Pentecôte, soit l’arrivée sur Terre du Saint-Esprit, qui s’est posé sur les apôtres de Jésus. Du point de vue religieux, la Pentecôte, c’est la création de l’Eglise chrétienne, 50 jours après la Résurrection du Seigneur. Selon le Nouveau Testament, les 12 apôtres, rassemblés dans une maison, ont reçu le Saint-Esprit, qui leur a donné le pouvoir de s’exprimer dans des langues qu’ils n’avaient jamais parlées. Ainsi, ils ont pu répandre leur croyance au plus grand nombre. Suite à la prédication de l’apôtre Pierre, 3 000 hommes se sont fait baptiser et ont formé la première communauté chrétienne. Les fidèles participent à la messe, et reçoivent à la fin des feuilles de noyer bénites, qui symbolisent les lames de feu qui se sont posées sur les apôtres. Près de 25 000 policiers, sapeurs-pompiers, gendarmes et policiers aux frontières ont été mobilisés, en Roumanie, pour prévenir les incivilités, et pour le déroulement en toute sécurité des événements publics qui ont lieu en ces journées de fête. La Police routière travaille avec des effectifs accrus, notamment sur les routes principales menant à la mer ou aux stations balnéaires des montagnes, où la plupart des Roumains ont choisi de passer ces mini-vacances, car le lundi de Pentecôte est un jour férié chômé en Roumanie.



    Lutte — Le sportif roumain Iosif Alexandru Ionescu a conquis la médaille de bronze catégorie 65 kilos, samedi, aux Championnats d’Europe Cadets de lutte gréco-romaine de Samokov (Bulgarie), après avoir vaincu dans le match décisif le Bélarusse Zahar Ianevici. Iulian Vasile Lungu, catégorie 60 kg, a aussi une chance pour la médaille de bronze, mais il doit gagner aujourd’hui le match contre le vainqueur entre l’Espagnol Pablo Manuel Gomez Munoz et l’Allemand Eugen Schell. Aux Championnats d’Europe Cadets, la Roumanie a engrangé quatre médailles. Outre celle d’Alexandru Ionescu, Georgiana Carla Lircă a remporté l’or à la catégorie 57 kilos, Alexandra Voiculescu s’est vu attribuer la médaille d’argent pour la catégorie 40 kg, alors que Daniel Marian Sandu s’est vu décerner celle d’argent en luttes libres, catégorie 60 kilos.



    Football — L’Euro 2020 se poursuit. Au Groupe F, aujourd’hui, l’Italie rencontre le Pays de Galles à Rome, et la Suisse affronte la Turquie à Bakou. Samedi, au Groupe F, la France et la Hongrie ont terminé à égalité à Budapest, 1 partout, alors que l’Allemagne a battu le Portugal, champion d’Europe en titre, 4 à 2 à Munich. Samedi, dans le Groupe E, l’Espagne et la Pologne ont terminé à égalité, 1 partout, à Séville. Suite aux matchs de vendredi, c’est le Tchèque Patrik Schick et le Portugais Cristiano Ronaldo, avec trois buts, qui détiennent les records des buts inscrits dans le tournoi final de l’Euro 2020. En première historique, Bucarest accueille quatre matchs à l’Euro 2020, 3 dans les groupes et une huitième de finale. En plus, à cette édition, la Roumanie dispose de deux brigades d’arbitres — ce qui constitue une autre première.



    Météo — En Roumanie, les météorologues ont émis de nouvelles alertes jaunes et orange aux pluies torrentielles et aux orages pour presque tous les départements de Roumanie, jusqu’à lundi. Les quantités d’eau dépasseront les 20 à 30 l/m² et même les 50 l/m². Le ciel restera couvert, notamment dans l’est du territoire, avant que les nuages ne gagnent petit à petit les autres régions aussi, notamment le sud, l’est et le centre où des averses, des phénomènes électriques, du vent et par endroits des chutes de grêle et des phénomènes orageux se produiront. L’instabilité météorologique perdurera en début de la semaine prochaine aussi, notamment dans les régions de montagne. Les hydrologues ont placé plusieurs rivières en vigilance orange et jaune aux crues, en vigueur jusqu’à lundi en soirée. Des coulées de boue sont attendues sur les versants ainsi que des torrents, tandis que les rivières et les ruisseaux risquent de sortir de leur lit en provoquant des inondations. Les pluies torrentielles des derniers jours ont fait des victimes et ont affecté des milliers de logements. Les sapeurs-pompiers ont dû intervenir même à Bucarest pour vider quelques maisons remplies d’eau, tout comme plus d’une centaine de cours et des dizaines de rues. Les rafales ont déraciné des arbres qui sont tombés sur des véhicules garés à proximité. Les pluies ont perturbé aussi le trafic routier. Les maximales du jour vont de 21 à 32°, avec 20° à midi à Bucarest.


  • January 8, 2021 UPDATE

    January 8, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 The new coronavirus strain discovered in the UK, and which spreads more easily, has been confirmed in Romania, in a 27-year old woman, the Romanian Health Ministry announced on Friday. The patient, who has a mild form of the disease and is isolating at home, has not travelled abroad recently. Nearly 5,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Friday, many of them in the capital Bucharest. The total number of cases since the onset of the pandemic is over 660,000. 1,100 patients are in intensive care, and the death toll exceeds 16,500. The Romanian Health Minister plans to streamline procedures for the set-up and authorisation of COVID-19 vaccination centres. Minister Vlad Voiculescu announced the relevant legislation is being amended to this end. PM Florin Cîţu said in a post that Romanias vaccination capacity is growing from one day to the next, and explains the number of centres is soon expected to reach 1,000, with a combined capacity of 150,000 vaccine doses per day. So far over 92,000 people have received the vaccine in Romania.




    VACCINE The EU has signed a new deal with Pfizer/BioNTech for the purchase of another 300 million doses of anti-Covid vaccine, in addition to the 300 million already bought, said the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen quoted by DPA. According to the EU official, 75 million doses would be delivered in the second quarter of the year. The EU started rolling out the vaccine produced by the German-US consortium Pfizer-BioNTec in December. The EU has also approved the Moderna vaccine and is waiting for the delivery of the first 160 million doses. The European Commission has been criticised for the slow pace of the immunization campaign addressing its 450 million citizens.




    BUDGET The European Commission has again cautioned the centre-right government in Bucharest that it has to keep budget deficit in check, after expenditures soared in 2020 whereas incomes went down against the background of the health crisis. We are expecting a robust 2021 budget from Romania, the vice-president of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis said in a phone talk with the Romanian Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare. The Romanian official pledged that investments and EU fund absorption remain top priorities. Minister Nazare said Bucharest plans a gradual narrowing of the deficit starting this year, so that it may reach 3% of the GDP in 2024.




    TEEN PREGNANCIES Romania ranks 2nd in the EU by number of teenage births, which has serious consequences on teenage mothers as well as social and economic costs, according to a report released by UNICEF and SAMAS Association in Romania. Adolescent childbearing is recurring within families from one generation to the other, and is linked with poverty and with poor health services and social-economic status. According to the report, in 2019 Romania had nearly 17,000 teenage pregnancies. Recommendations include legislative and administrative reforms to remove barriers to underage access to reproductive health and information and the introduction of mandatory reproductive health classes in schools.




    SPORTS The womens handball side CSM Bucharest is playing on Saturday against the Hungarian team Ferencvaros, away from home, in the Champions League Group A. In the first leg of the round, the Romanians won 25-19. CSM Bucharest ranks 2nd in Group A with 11 points, with Ferencvaros coming 4th with 8 points. On Sunday, Romanian womens handball champions SCM Ramnicu Valcea, take on several times European champions Györ, in the competitions Group B. The Romanian team is 8th in the group, with no points after 5 games.




    US The outgoing US president Donald Trump announced on Friday that he will not take part in the inauguration of president-elect Joe Biden. Trump will be the second US president to decline attending his successors inauguration, after Andrew Johnson in 1869. The announcement came hours after Trump had promised a smooth transition for president-elect Joe Biden’s administration, in a video posted on Twitter where he said he was ‘outraged by the lawlessness, violence and mayhem’ caused by his supporters who stormed the US Capitol. In Congress, the Democrats called on Vice-president Mike Pence to use the 25th amendment to remove Trump in the wake of the violent events on January 6th, in which 5 people were killed. The US Capitols security chief and other members of his administration resigned following the riot, in order to protest the violence. (tr. A.M. Popescu)