July 25, 2021 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 25.07.2021, 20:00

CORONAVIRUS — 109 new Covid infections have been reported in the last 24 hours in Romania, out of over 19,000 tests performed, the Group for Strategic Communication announced on Sunday. One related casualty and 299 people treated in hospital, out of whom 34 in intensive care, have also been reported. 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 Minister of Health, Ioana Mihăilă, has warned that unvaccinated people are the most vulnerable to infection. The impact of the fourth wave of the pandemic, which experts see as unavoidable, also depends on how many people get immunized, and Romania does not stand well in this respect. Around 4.7 million Romanians have been fully vaccinated so far.

PANDEMIC — Protests against plans to require a COVID-19 vaccine certificate or a negative PCR test to gain entry to bars, restaurants and cinemas from next month were held on Saturday in a number of European cities. More than 160 thousand people took to the streets in France, unhappy with the new health pass rules and with making vaccination mandatory for certain professions. Clashes with the police took place in Paris, on the second consecutive weekend of protests in this country. Protests were also held in Italy, against the wider use of the European green pass and also in Greece, where police used tear gas and water cannons against protesters. In Brazil on the other hand, rallies were staged across the country to speed up the vaccination campaign against the novel coronavirus.

MOLDOVA — The first session of Moldova’s new parliament will be held on Monday. MPs are to elect their leaders and decide on the new government makeup. The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova 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 more than 52% of the votes. The Electoral Bloc of Communists and Socialists (BECS) led by the former pro-Russian leaders, the communist Vladimir Voronin and the socialist Igor Dodon came second, with 27.4%. The populist party led by the fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, involved in 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, the Action and Solidarity Party has 63 of the 101 seats in parliament, the Communists and Socialists have 32, and the Shor Party 6. The Action and Solidarity Party leaders have promised to form a new government soon.

MEDALS — Romania won three gold and two silver medals at the International Physics Olympiad held in Lithuania and attended by 76 countries. Vlad Stefan Oros with the Grigore Moisil High School in Timisoara, Tudor Gabriel Mocioi with the Tudor Vianu High School in Bucharest and George Cristian Ardeleanu with the International Computer High School in Bucharest won the three gold medals. The two silver medals went to Antonia Alma Ghita with the International Computer High School in Bucharest and Stefan Stefanescu with the Dimitrie Cantemir National College in Onesti.

OLYMPIC GAMES – Romania’s Under-23 football squad was defeated by South Korea on Sunday, 0-4, in their second match in Group B of the Tokyo Olympic tournament, but stay in the race for the quarterfinals. On Thursday, in their debut match, Romania beat Honduras 1-nil, while New Zealand defeated South Korea with the same score. On Saturday Romania won the first medal at the current edition of the Olympics. Fencer Ana Maria Popescu won silver in the individual epee event. In the final she was defeated by the Chinese Yiwen Sun, 11-10. 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. (EE)