April 13, 2021 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 13.04.2021, 19:59

Covid-19Ro. 3,883 new COVID-19 infections have been
reported in the last 24 hours in Romania, the Strategic Communication Group announced
on Tuesday. 193 Covid-19 related fatalities were also confirmed during the
interval. 13,661 people infected with SARS-CoV-2 are currently hospitalized,
1,530 of whom are in intensive care. Since the start of the pandemic over a
million infections have been reported in Romania, 90% of the people who got
infected having recovered. Over 1.5 million Romanians have already taken both
doses of the anti-COVID vaccine.

Pandemic. The total
number of COVID-19 infections has exceeded 137 million people worldwide, 110
million people have recovered and 3 million people have died, according to the
latest report on worldometers.info. Over a third of the victims have been
reported in Europe, where the death toll has exceeded 1 million people, making
it the continent with the largest number of COVID-related fatalities, ahead of
Latin America, the Caribbean, the United States, Canada, the Middle East and
Africa.

Investigation. The
Romanian Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu said on Tuesday that he had requested
the functioning permit of the mobile intensive care unit of the Victor Babes
hospital and concluded that all hygiene and public health norms were observed. Romanian
authorities launched an investigation at the Victor Babeş
Infectious Disease Hospital in Bucharest, where three patients suffering from COVID-19
died on Monday. The head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed
Arafat, said the patients died because of a malfunction in the oxygen supply
system of the mobile unit where they were treated. Another five patients who
survived have been transferred to other hospitals. Raed Arafat said some 155
patients needed oxygen on Monday in emergency units in hospitals.

Gendarmerie. On
Tuesday, the anti-corruption prosecutors searched the headquarters of the
Romanian Gendarmerie and of several county inspectorates, according to some
judicial sources. The investigators are looking into the organization of some
contests for advancement in the officers’ corps rankings, the Romanian
Gendarmerie has confirmed. According to a message from the institution, the
Gendarmerie is the first interested in clarifying all suspicions related to the
organization of the said contests and will make available to the competent
bodies all the required data and documents.

UNESCO. Romania is
proud to contribute to the protection of the highest values of humanity, and is
present on the world heritage list with 8 natural and cultural sites and 7 traditions,
the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Ludovic Orban, said on Tuesday. A round
table titled Romania’s UNESCO world heritage – challenges and
solutions was hosted by the Romanian Parliament, an event marking 65
years since Romania joined UNESCO. The attendance list included the speakers of
the two chambers of Parliament, representatives of the Romanian Academy and of the
Romanian Cultural Institute, of the National Heritage Institute and of the
Romanian UNESCO National Commission. The UNESCO World Heritage list includes a
number of cultural sites from Romania, such as churches in Moldavia, the Horezu
monastery, fortified churches in Transylvania, Dacian citadels in Orăștiei
Mountains, the Sighișoara Historical Center, wooden churches in Maramureș, as
well as natural sites – the Danube Delta and the old-growth birch forests in
the Carpathian mountains.

Inflation. The
annual inflation rate in Romania dropped to 3.1% in March, from 3.2% in
February, the National Statistics Institute reports. Price hikes were reported
for non-food products, 4.37%, foodstuffs, 1.59% and services, 2.21%. The
National Bank of Romania estimates an inflation rate of 2% at the end of the
first quarter of the year and 2.5% for the end of the year.

Poverty. Over a
third of Romanian parents in vulnerable communities in the rural area could not
or only partially provided meals for
their families, according to a survey conducted in poverty-stricken communities
in 2020 by World Vision Romania, an organization conducting emergency
humanitarian programmes, with a focus on children welfare. According to the
source, 41% of respondents were forced to cut back on family spending, one of
the main reasons being that over a quarter of parents in the rural area were
left without a job and, by extension, without a source of income. They were
also faced with the impossibility of finding employment due to pandemic-related
restrictions. 1 in 10 children in rural areas goes to sleep on an empty stomach
almost every day, the World Vision Romania survey also shows. (MI)