August 3, 2020

Some of the latest news from Romania and abroad.

Newsroom, 03.08.2020, 13:55

Coronavirus
Romania. Romania passes 54,000 coronavirus infections. 19 new deaths were
reported on Monday, taking the death toll to 2,432. The number of active cases
has also reached a new record, passing 18,400, while 419 patients are in
intensive care. Starting today, travellers from Romania will only be able to
enter the Czech Republic if they take a coronavirus test. Belgium has also
introduced restrictions for arrivals from 24 counties in central, southern,
south-eastern and south-western Romania. Recently, Italy has extended indefinitely
the obligation for arrivals from Romania to self-isolate for 14 days. Hungary
and Slovenia have also announced new entry conditions for arrivals from
Romania.

Coronavirus world. More than 18.2 million coronavirus cases were
reported and more than 690,000 people have died globally. More and more
countries are reintroducing the restrictions lifted in the last month due to a
new surge in the number of cases. South Africa is the fifth worst affected
country after the United States, Brazil, India and Russia. Australia, which
successfully tackled the outbreak in its early stages has now taken the
tightest measures since the start of the pandemic. Europe is also on alert,
tightening border controls, especially for travellers from high-risk areas.

Parliament.
Parliament in Bucharest is again in extraordinary sitting this week. Specialist
committees are holding hearings and prime minister Ludovic Orban is again
expected in Parliament to present a report on the measures taken to manage the
coronavirus pandemic. A Parliament’s inquiry committee into acquisitions and
how the emergency situation was handled may meet on Tuesday. The joint Senate
committees for constitutional affairs and the judiciary may debate a citizens’
initiative to revise the Constitution entitled No more criminals in public
office. The Chamber of Deputies has already passed the initiative. If Senate
passes it, the government must hold a referendum to revise the Constitution
within 30 days of the adoption of the bill. In another move, the speakers of
the two chambers, the Social Democratic Party members Marcel Ciolacu and Robert
Cazanciuc asked prime minister and National Liberal Party leader Ludovic Orban
to present plans to manage the pandemic, the start of the new school year and
the organisation of local and parliamentary elections.

Poll. More than half of Romanian
employees say they are worried about the rise in the number of coronavirus
cases, but don’t think a state of emergency should be reintroduced, according
to an opinion poll conducted by the recruitment platform BestJobs. 47% of respondents
say a new state of emergency would destroy the economy, and 10% believe the
situation is not that bad yet. 36% of Romanian employees believe, however, that
more drastic measures are necessary in order to prevent the spread of the
virus. 58% of respondents blame the spike in the number of cases in the last
month on people not respecting hygiene and physical distancing rules, and only
15% blame the authorities for not imposing stricter rules and not making sure
they are respected.

Film. Colectiv
is the first Romanian documentary nominated by Romania for an Oscar, said the
director of the Transylvania International Film Festival Tudor Giurgiu. The festival,
which is in its 19th year, is under way in Cluj Napoca, in
north-western Romania. The focus this year is on safety and physical
distancing, with the festival taking place exclusively outdoors at several
locations around the city and nearby. The line-up features more than 130
titles. A programme of Romanian short film runs from today until Wednesday. This
year’s edition is dedicated to the great Italian director Federico Fellini.
Romanian actress Maria Ploae is to receive a special recognition award. The festival
is coming to an end next Sunday.

Tennis. Three Romanian players, Sorana Cirstea, Irina Begu and Laura
Ioana Paar are in action today in the women’s singles in Palermo, a tournament worth
163,000 euros in prize money. This is the first WTA competition held since
March. In the first round, Cirstea faces Italy’s Sara Errani, Begu faces
Germany’s Laura Siegemund while Paar plays Russia’s Lyudmila Samsonova in the
final qualifying round. A fourth Romanian player, Patricia Tig, faces fourth
seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia on Thursday. World no. 2 Simona
Halep withdrew from Palermo because of the rise in the number of coronavirus
cases.