July 19, 2020
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 19.07.2020, 13:55
LAW — In Romania, the law on the quarantine and isolation of the people infected with COVID-19, promulgated by President Klaus Iohannis and published in the Official Journal, will enter into force on Tuesday. People who return from countries with a high number of coronavirus cases need to quarantine at home or at locations provided by the public authorities. Those who do not follow the isolation and quarantine rules can receive sanctions. The isolation is first introduced for 48 hours, during which doctors can assess the patients and establish the risk of spreading the virus. If the risk persists, doctors can recommend extending the isolation period in hospital or at the patients home. The decision for quarantine or isolation can be appealed in Court but, until the ruling is delivered, the patient cannot leave the location without the doctor’s permission.
SUMMIT – EU leaders have extended the summit in Brussels by another day, as they have not yet managed to reach an agreement on the recovery plan to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and a new long-term EU budget. The plan is supported by France and Germany opposed by the so-called “Frugal Four” — Austria, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands — which want the amount to be handout out as grants to be reduced and are wary of pooling debt with less solvent countries. The Commission initially proposed a recovery fund totaling 750 billion euros. Attending the summit, President Klaus Iohannis believes that Bucharest can receive a substantial amount but admits that negotiations are complicated. He also says that Romania’s goal as far as the EU budget is concerned is to be earmarked important amounts for the common agricultural policy and the cohesion policy.
CORONAVIRUS — In Romania, another 767 new infections with coronavirus have been reported on Sunday by the Strategic Communication Group, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to over 37,400. Another 17 people have died, with the death toll standing at 2026. Out of the people who tested positive, more than 22,400 have been declared cured and discharged. Abroad, 5,215 Romanians were confirmed to be infected with the new coronavirus, and 122 died. Doctors say that one of the causes of the explosion in the number of cases is the discharge of positive patients on demand. Health Minister Nelu Tataru on Sunday voiced his concern about the protection measures not being observed on the Black Sea coast and in the mountain resorts on Prahova Valley.
LASER – Professor Gerard Mourou, the winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2018 and the initiator of the ELI (Extreme Light Infrastructure) project, came to Romania, where he visited, the ELI Center in Măgurele (near Bucharest). Professor Mourou particularly appreciated the remarkable progress in the implementation of the project, emphasizing the technological and scientific advancement of the infrastructure made at the international research platform in the field of lasers. He discussed with researchers there the launch of “experiments related to the use of high-power laser systems, in the development of new nuclear technologies for energy production, with minimal environmental pollution.” We recall that, in March 2019, the laser in Magurele registered a first in world research: it reached 10 PW, the power for which it was built, being the most powerful laser in the world.
WEATHER — Romanian meteorologists have warned of unsettled weather in most of the country, until Monday morning. Thunderstorms, hail and strong wind are expected in 11 counties in the east and south while heavy rain has been forecast for centre, north and south of the country. Moreover, there is the danger of flooding on 24 water courses until Monday at noon. Maximum temperatures today range from 20 to 32 degrees Celsius. The noon reading in the capital Bucharest was 26 degrees.
(Translated by Elena Enache)
