February 27, 2020 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 27.02.2020, 20:04
VIRUS On Wednesday night Romania confirmed its first case of infection with the new coronavirus. According to Health Minister Victor Costache, the infected person is a man from southern Romania who got in contact with an Italian citizen from Rimini. The Romanian, whose condition is good and is not presenting symptoms, has been quarantined in a hospital in Bucharest. Quarantine measures have also been imposed in the area where the first infected person was discovered. Some 100 people have been quarantined in special centers in Romania and 7100 others are kept in home isolation. And since 300 thousand Romanians are living in northern Italy, the European country with the largest number of infections, all the Romanian nationals coming from that area will be kept in quarantine or home isolation for 14 days.
COVID-19 The new coronavirus continues to spread all over the world. On Thursday, Denmark, Norway and Estonia announced their first cases. The virus has been reported in roughly 50 countries and territories outside mainland China, with over 35 hundred infections confirmed and at least 57 deaths, CNN reports. The Iranian authorities decided on Thursday to keep schools shut, to suspend classes in universities and to cancel all sporting and cultural events, as well as to limit religious gatherings, because 245 people tested positive, of whom 26 died. The General Director of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has stated that the outbreak has reached a decisive point and has called on all states to act fast in order to contain this very dangerous virus. So far, more than 2,700 people have died in China, out of some 79,000 confirmed cases of infection.
GOVERNMENT Romanias Prime Minister Designate Florin Cîţu has made public his intention to muster Parliament majority so that it may shore up the cabinet he is going to propose. The incumbent Prime Minister, the Liberal leader Ludovic Orban, announced on Thursday that the party leaders would convene in a session to validate the list of ministers and the ruling programme. The opposition Social Democratic Party has made public its intention to not endorse a cabinet led by Cîţu. Dan Barna, the leader of the Save Romania Union, the third political force in Romania, said his party could join an executive led by Cîţu, provided certain conditions were accepted, including that of holding two-round local elections. The Pro-Romania leader and the countrys former Prime Minister Victor Ponta said he would not vote for a Liberal cabinet lacking Parliament support, as that could prevent it from ruling the country properly.
LOANS For the first time in history, Romania got loans with negative interests rates, announced the interim finance minister Florin Citu in the opening of Thursdays government session. The loan stands at a total of 150 million Euros borrowed from banks, at an interest rate of -0.11% per year, by means of a treasury bond issuance with discount, with a 5 month residual maturity. Investors trust Romania, Citu stressed. Also on Thursday, the Government approved a memorandum on the organization, in partnership with the Red Cross, of a public awareness campaign on the new coronavirus. The aim is to combat fake news and to provide correct and complete information.
ECONOMY According to the European Commission, Romania runs the risk of not being able to sustain its budget deficit as well as pension and pay rises. The European Commissions report on Romania, which is one of the 27 describing the main economic and social challenges facing every member state, shows that Romania is facing a major risk of not being able to support the higher public fiscal deficit corroborated with higher pension expenses. The report also mentions a decreasing birth-rate, which means a significantly reduced labour force and a dropping number of skilled workers, which could further impact the countrys growth potential. Furthermore, training and education policies have proved inefficient and failed to meet labour market requirements. The report has also referred to the wage-productivity gap, with salaries increasing way faster than productivity. In spite of an average growth of 5% in the past three years, income inequality remains high and so does the poverty rate, while the gap between developed and less developed regions continues to deepen.
FILM The feature film Ivana the Terrible, directed by Ivana Mladenovic, has been selected for the official competition in 3 prestigious festivals – FEST Belgrade Serbia, CPH:DOX Denmark, and Vilnius International Film Festival, in Lithuania. Ivana the Terrible is an unconventional story about people and places, about longing and belonging, told with humour and tenderness. Ivana Mladenovic herself plays the lead part, and the cast includes her parents, brother and grandmother. Ivana Mladenovic also wrote the script, together with Adrian Schiop. This second feature directed by actress and script writer Ivana Mladenovic will reach Romanian theatres on March 13. After winning the special prize of the jury in the Cineasti del Presente section of the 2019 Locarno Festival, the film also received the Golden Pram trophy for best feature in the Zagreb Film Festival. Her debut feature, “Soldiers. A Ferentari Story”, set in a sketchy neighbourhood in Bucharest, has also won many awards.
