July 24, 2021
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 24.07.2021, 13:58
Covid-19RO. The Romanian authorities are once again drawing attention to the fact that the number of cases of infection with the new coronavirus will increase in the next period. A report by the National Institute of Public Health shows that, in the most pessimistic scenario, by September 15, the number of newly reported cases could exceed 1,500 per day. The report also calculated the need for resources and estimates that, in the midst of a pandemic wave, at least 500 intensive care beds may be needed. The Minister of Health, Ioana Mihăilă, has warned that unvaccinated people are the most exposed to infection. In the last four weeks, in Romania, 87% of the new cases and 91% of the related deaths were recorded in unvaccinated people. Over 4.7 million Romanians have been fully vaccinated so far. On Saturday, 126 new cases of infection were reported, in more than 25,700 tests performed.
Pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened in Europe and North America, massively affected by the much more contagious Delta version of the virus. The World Health Organization and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control have confirmed that the Delta variant is now almost everywhere in Europe and have called on authorities to step up efforts to prevent the virus from spreading further. Globally, this week saw an average of more than 520,000 new daily cases of infection, almost 10% more than last weeks average. In the United States, the number of new cases has increased by more than 62%, and in Europe by more than 25 %.
Crisis. As of today, a 30-day state of alert is in place in Bucharests first district, due to what the press calls the garbage crisis. The decision was adopted by the Local Committee for Emergency Situations, with the agreement of the prefect Alin Stoica, at the request of the district mayor, Clotilde Armand. The prefect of the Capital motivated his decision by the fact that a large amount of uncontrollable waste has accumulated on the streets, and the provider of sanitation services, the Romprest company, cannot cope. From the opposition, the Social Democratic Party started collecting signatures to dismiss Clotilde Armand (USR-PLUS), which is in open conflict with Romprest and her own political partners in the National Liberal Party. The Social Democratic vice-president Alexandru Petrescu says the mayor doesnt care about the local community she heads. District 1 is the richest and most economically dynamic in Bucharest.
Moldova. The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet, with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population) has confirmed the results of the early parliamentary elections held on July 11 and validated the mandates of the elected deputies. The election was won by the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), founded by the head of state, the pro-Western Maia Sandu, with 52.5% of the votes. The Electoral Bloc of Communists and Socialists (BECS), led by the former pro-Russian heads of state, the communist Vladimir Voronin and the socialist Igor Dodon, came in second, with 27.4%. The populist party led by the fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, the protagonist of many serious cases of corruption, will also be part of the new Legislature. After redistributing the votes of the parties that did not exceed the electoral threshold, PAS has 63 of the 101 seats in parliament, the Communists and Socialists have 32, and the Shor Party 6. After the validation of the elections by the Constitutional Court, President Sandu convened Parliament for the inaugural session, scheduled for Monday. PAS leaders have promised to form a new government soon.
Tokyo Olympics. Romanias Under-23 national football team meets, on Sunday, the South Korean team for its second Group B match of the Tokyo Olympic tournament. In the same group, also on Sunday, the New Zealand-Honduras match will be played. On Thursday, in the debut match, Romania defeated Honduras 1-0, and New Zealand beat South Korea with the same score. The Romanian footballers qualified for the Olympics after reaching the semifinals of the 2019 European Under-21 Championship, in Italy and San Marino. Romania has not participated in the Olympic football tournament since 1964, when it ranked 5th, also in Tokyo. They had previously had two participations in the 1924 (Paris) and 1952 (Helsinki) editions. In total, 101 Romanian athletes, 46 women and 55 men, are participating in the Tokyo Olympic Games, in 17 disciplines. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, fans are not allowed to attend the games. (MI)
