April 24, 2020
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 24.04.2020, 13:55
Covid-19 Romania The Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban has attended today the Scientific-Technical Support Group for the management of highly contagious diseases in Romania. Another working meeting was held last night, and gathered representatives of all the institutions with responsibilities in managing the situation created by the Covid-19 pandemic. One major aspect is the transfer of patients hospitalized in intensive care units across the country, where the maximum admission capacity of other potential Covid-19 patients exceeds 75%. In Romania, the number of infections has exceeded 10 thousand 4 hundred, and the death toll has reached 552. 2,800 people have been cured. Abroad, some 1500 Romanian citizens have been infected, and 70 have died.
Pandemic Some 2.7 million people have been infected with the new coronavirus across the world, and 190,000 have died. According to the Johns Hopkins University, Europe is the continent with the largest number of deaths, in Italy, Spain and France, which have exceeded 20,000 and also Great Britain, which is close to this threshold. However, the situation seems to stabilize in several regions of Europe, including in Italy, which was the hardest hit by the pandemic in Europe. According to the Radio Romania correspondent in Italy, for the first time in the nine months of epidemic, the number of cured patients is bigger that that of new cases. Many European countries are considering a relaxation of restrictions and some have already announced measures to that end. The Czech Republic, for instance, has allowed the resumption of trips abroad, gatherings of no more than 10 people and universities will open their doors on Monday. In France, the Government and local authorities are working together on preparations for the exit from home isolation, due on May 11th, and in Great Britain health officials have spoken of a mass testing and monitoring program, in order to keep the spread low, and that would open the way for more relaxed measures regarding distancing. The US remains the hardest hit country in the world, with some 900 thousand infections and more than 50 thousands deaths.
Plan On Thursday, the 27 EU leaders called on the European Commission to prepare a crisis exit strategy and postponed difficult decisions regarding solidarity, requested by the countries in the south of the continent from the Nordic ones. This plan would include a budget proposal for 2021-2027, including a fund for the recovery of the European economy following the restrictions enforced in order to stop the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Romania was represented at the summit, held by video-conference, by the head of state Klaus Iohannis.
Ramadan Members of the Muslim community in Romania, just like other Muslims around the world, are observing Ramadan as of today. For a month, they will spend time praying and will not eat or drink anything from dawn till dusk. According to a press release by the head of the Muslim denomination in Romania, the mufti Murat Iusuf, given the coronavirus pandemic, all believers will pray only at home. Ramadan, which ends on May 23rd, is observed around the world in conditions adapted to the current situation. Indonesia, for instance, which is home to the largest Muslim community, has imposed travel bans, and has allowed praying via the internet, in an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus. In Saudi Arabia, prayers are no longer held at the Grand Mosque and the Mosque of the Prophet. In Egypt too all mosques will stay closed during the holy month of Ramadan.
Eurostat According to data made public by Eurostat, in 2019, some 5.4% of the people employed in the EU, aged 15 to 64, were regularly working from home. The countries with the lowest shares of people teleworking were Bulgaria, with 0.5% and Romania, with 0.8%. At the opposite pole, the Netherlands and Finland ranked first in terms of people working remotely, with 14%. The share of women was bigger than that of men. In the past decade, the share of the employed working from home in the EU has remained constant, approx. 5%, but in Romania it has doubled, from 0.4% in 2012 to 0.8% in 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced many companies, including in Romania, to reorganize their activities and many employees are currently working from home.
Roads At the end of 2019, Romania had 866 km of motorway, accounting for 4.8% of the total national roads, according to data published today by the National Institute of Statistics. Public roads measured a total of 86 thousand km, of which 21% national roads, 40% county roads, 39% communal roads and the rest paved and dirt roads. Also, on December 31st, 2019, 10,759 km of railroad were in operation in Romania. (M.Ignatescu)
