April 6, 2021

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 06.04.2021, 13:55

Economy. Prime
minister Florin Cîţu had talks with representatives of the
hospitality industry in Romania, one of the sectors worst hit by the
coronavirus pandemic. The government wants all Romanians to be able to travel
around the country, whether they have the vaccine or not, with the vaccine
passport to be used only for international travel. Hoteliers pledge to provide
free rapid Covid tests for guests who have not had the vaccine or the virus.
The meeting came one day after the prime minister announced the creation of an
inter-ministerial committee to look at a possible easing of restrictions from 1st
June, which would allow for a gradual return to normality.

Covid-19
update. Romania saw more than 5,200 new coronavirus cases today and 196 related
deaths, with most new infections being recorded in Bucharest. 14,000 Covid
patients are receiving hospital treatment, including almost 1,470 in intensive
care. Many hospitals are running out of beds, struggling with a large number of
more severe cases. Since the start of the mass vaccination campaign in December,
2.1 million people have been given the Covid vaccine in Romania, with 1.2
million having also had the second dose.

Justice.
France views as premature the elimination of the Cooperation and Verification
Mechanism in Romania’s case as long as the goals established have not yet been
met, writes an information report from the French Senate on the rule of law in
the European Union. The document notes that the latest written report of the
European Commission warned that reforms slowed down in Romania in 2017 and that
the situation in the first months of 2019 was a reason for concern. The report
of the French Senate also notes that the Commission later welcomed the wish of the
Romanian government to review its approach, but that progress cannot be
established based solely on political commitments. Set up in 2007, when Romania
joined the European Union, the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism is
designed to flag possible malfunctions in the area of justice and propose
solutions.

Hotline. A
hotline providing psychological counselling for Romanians affected by the pandemic,
including medical workers, is available from today, the healthcare ministry has
announced. People affected by the pandemic, healthcare workers under constant
stress and anyone struggling to cope with the pandemic can now call the hotline
(at 021 9081), from
Monday to Saturday between 12 pm and 8 pm. 40 psychotherapists have volunteered
for the service via Cloud Voice.

Statistics. One in two EU citizens
aged between 16 and 74 reported that in 2020 they sought online health
information related to injury, disease, nutrition and improving health. This
figure stands at only 28% in Romania, the lowest in the European Union,
according to Eurostat figures published today. Online health information is
very popular in Northern Europe, with 77% recorded in Finland, 76% in the
Netherlands and 72% in Denmark and least popular in Romania and Bulgaria. In
the last ten years, the number of people seeking health information online has
increased across the EU, with the highest increase being recorded in the Czech
Republic (by 41%), Cyprus (by 40%) and Spain (by 34%), and by only 10% in
Romania.

Unemployment. The unemployment rate
went up in Romania in February by 0.1% to hit 5.7%, the National Institute for
Statistics said today. 478,000 people are without a job in Romania, with the
highest unemployment figures recorded among women.

Euro 2020. The Romanian youth and
sports ministry said the matches hosted by Romania as part of the Euro 2020
Football Championship will be held with 13,000 fans in the stadium, accounting
for a quarter of the total number of seats available in the National Arena
stadium in Bucharest. The Romanian government promised to adopt the legislation
allowing spectators in the stadium, or Romania may face exclusion by FIFA from
the Euro 2020 scheme. Romania is due to host four matches as part of the 2020 European
Football Championship which was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Romanian football team has not qualified.

Tennis. The Romanian-German pair Mihaela Buzărnescu and Anna-Lena
Friedsam reached the doubles quarterfinals at a tennis tournament in Bogota,
worth over 235,000 dollars in prize money. They defeated the all-Indonesian
pair Beatrice Gumulya and Jessica Rompies. In another match, Irina Bara and
Slovenia’s Dalila Jakupovic lost to the French-American pair Elixane Lechemia
and Ingrid Neel. In the singles, Mihaela Buzărnescu is today playing France’s Harmony
Tan, while Irina Bara is playing third seed Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands. (CM)