August 16, 2020 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

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Newsroom, 16.08.2020, 19:15

State of alert. The state of alert declared in mid-May in Romania was extended, starting Sunday, by 30 days. The decision was made by the government in a meeting on Friday. No additional restrictions were imposed. The number of cases of infection with the new coronavirus exceeds 70,000, with some 1100 new cases reported in the past 24 hours. Approximately 3000 people have died. According to the latest survey published by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Romania has reached the first place in the EU in terms of death rate caused by COVID – 19 as well as the rate of new cases detected per hundred thousand inhabitants.

Pandemic. Worldwide, the number of cases of infection with the new coronavirus is approaching 22 million. About 770,000 deaths have been recorded so far. More than 210 countries around the world have reported cases of infection and death after the first cases were detected in December 2019 in China, Reuters reports. In the top three in terms of the number of cases of coronavirus infection are the United States, with 5.5 million, Brazil, with about 3.3 million and India, with almost 2.6 million.

Motion. The Social Democratic Party, the largest opposition party in Romania, is negotiating with other parliamentary parties to get support for a no-confidence motion against the Liberal cabinet led by Ludovic Orban, which is to be filed in Parliament on Monday. The Social Democrat deputy Marius Budai has stated that the text of the motion will be accompanied by almost one million signatures of some Romanian citizens who want the current minority government to leave. According to the Social Democratic Party, the executive destroyed the economy, its only concern being, in the midst of the health crisis generated by the pandemic, to siphon off public money. A report by the Court of Accounts on government procurement during the health crisis indicates financial and accounting deviations and damage. At the beginning of the month, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban stated that the motion had no solid motivation, being a mere electoral move. 233 votes are required for its adoption. If it passes, it would be the second time in a single year that a government led by Ludovic Orban has been fired by a no-confidence motion.

Awareness Day. The National Day for Awareness of Violence against Christians was marked for the first time in Romania on Sunday. August 16 is also the day when the majority Orthodox believers celebrate the Holy Brâncoveni Martyrs, who in 1714 chose to die for their faith in Constantinople. In a statement sent to Agerpres, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban says that the executive supports the need to raise awareness of the violence and persecution to which Christians around the world have been and still are subjected and advocates the elimination of any form of discrimination on religious or other grounds. According to statistics, around the world, eight Christians are killed every day for their religious affiliation.

Economy. The National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis estimates that the Romanian economy could recover in 2021, when the Gross Domestic Product would increase by 4.9%, from a forecast decline of 3.8% this year, due to the crisis generated by Covid-19. Investments, down 3.5% this year, could increase by 7.4% in 2021. The National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis also predicts, for the current year, a 10 percent drop in exports and over 7 percent in imports. Recently, the National Institute of Statistics has reported that Romanias Gross Domestic Product decreased by 12.3% in the second quarter of this year compared to the first quarter and by 10.5% compared to the second quarter of 2019. At the same time, the Romanian authorities estimate a budget deficit, this year, of 8.6 %.

Tennis. World no. 2 Romanian tennis player Simona Halep on Sunday won the WTA tournament in Prague, with more than 200,000 dollars in prize money. She defeated in the final the Belgian Elise Mertens 6-2, 7-5. Thus Simona won the 21st trophy in her career, after a break of six months. Also in Prague, in the doubles final, the Romanian pair Monica Niculescu / Raluca Olaru lost to the Czechs Lucie Hradecka / Kristyna Pliskova in two sets. (M. Ignatescu)