August 13, 2021

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 13.08.2021, 13:50

Covid-19 Romania. Romania moved
Turkey, Israel and the US on the red list of countries with high
epidemiological risk which comes into effect in two days’ time. Spain, Greece
and the UK are already on this list. Following a drop in incidence rates, The
Netherlands, Malta, Kuwait and Panama were moved from the red to the yellow
list. Bulgaria stays on the green list. Romania reported 383
new infections from over 32,000 tests today, as well as 3 new deaths. According to the National Public Health
Institute, 81% of confirmed Covid cases in the first week of August were among
unvaccinated people. Almost 5 million people are fully vaccinated in Romania to
date.

Certificate. From
today, only the digital certificates will be recognised when crossing EU state
borders as proof that a person has been vaccinated against Covid-19, has
received a negative test result or has recovered from the infection. The
certificates contain a QR code guaranteeing the authenticity of vaccines and
tests to prevent forgery. The obligation to present the digital certificates only
applies to the countries that require documents such as proof of vaccination,
testing or immunisation resulting from recovery from infection, as well as to
the return to Romania from yellow and red list countries. Travellers entering
Romania from a green list country are not required to present the digital
certificate or to isolate.

Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, the Taliban made new advances in their
offensive against government forces, taking the country’s second biggest city,
Kandahar, as well as Herat, a key economic and cultural centre. Western powers,
who are pulling out completely from this country by the end of the month after
20 years of war, are taking measures to protect their citizens. The conquest of
Kandahar is a symbolic victory for the Taliban, owing to its location in the
south of the country, where they began their insurgency in 1990 and from where
they led the country for five years. From September last year, when the
negotiations with the Afghan government began, the insurgents have shown no
sign that they are willing to compromise. The US, the European Union, Russia,
China and other world powers have warned that they will not recognise a
government imposed in Afghanistan by use of military force.

Navy. Romanian Navy forces are holding an event on
Sunday in Constanţa’s military port to celebrate
Romanian Navy Day. For the second year in a row, the public will not have
access to this venue because of the epidemiological situation. Spectators will,
however, be able to watch the ceremony online or on tv. The guard of honour
will include military from the Romanian,

Potatoes. Romania is the European Union’s
seventh biggest potato producer, according to figures published by Eurostat
today. The top producers are Germany, Poland, France, the Netherlands, Belgium
and Denmark. According to Eurostat, 55.3 million tonnes of potatoes were
harvested in the EU last year, 2.68 million of which in Romania. Six countries,
namely Germany, Poland, France, Romania, The Netherlands and Belgium, account
for almost three quarters of the total surface area cultivated with potatoes in
the EU last year.

Paralympics. Seven Romanian athletes are taking part
in the Tokyo Paralympic Games held between 24th August and 5th
September. They are competing in table tennis, judo, athletics, cycling and
archery and their goal is to win three medals. Under the rules in place, the
Paralympic athletes cannot be accompanied by medical staff or carers. Romania
has four medals in the history of Paralympic Games: a bronze won by Alex Bologa in Rio in judo and three won by the current minister for sports Eduard Novak in
cycling, namely gold in London and two silver in Beijing and London. Eduard
Novak will also compete in the Tokyo Paralympics, where he is confident he can
win a medal.

Handball. The Romanian women’s handball side will be playing in Group C,
alongside Norway and two sides from Asia at the 2021 World Championship hosted
by Spain, following a draw on Thursday night in Castellon. Norway are defending
European champions and the bronze medallists at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Asia
will have six sides at the World Championship, to be decided at the Asian
Championship taking place in Jordan between the 15th and the 25th
of September. Romania are the only side to have taken part in every edition of
the Women’s World Championship, winning the title in 1962, silver in 1973 and
bronze in 2015. At the latest edition hosted by Japan in 2019, they finished in
the 12th place. (CM)