July 4, 2021 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 04.07.2021, 19:25

Covid ▪ Romania’s entire territory remains in the green scenario regarding the spread of the novel coronavirus. 33 new cases of contamination were reported on Sunday out of more than 17 thousand tests made in 24 hours. 2 more deaths were announced besides another one reported from the previous months. Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 33,928 diagnosed with COVID-19 have died in Romania. 67 patients are currently in ICUs. Around 12 thousand people were vaccinated on Sunday, of whom almost half with the first dose. Since the onset of the vaccination campaign on December 27, 2020 over 4.7 million persons have been fully vaccinated.

Independence Day ▪ President Klaus Iohannis on Sunday conveyed a message on the occasion of the United States Independence Day wishing Romanias American friends and partners “a happy 4th of July”. At the party hosted by the American Embassy in Bucharest on Thursday, on the occasion of the 245th anniversary of Independence Day, President Iohannis stated that Romania was promoting a solid transatlantic relationship and would continue to support a robust and indivisible North Atlantic Alliance, as well as the cooperation between NATO and the European Union. Allies within NATO, Romania and the United States are also linked by a strategic partnership.

Justice Day ▪ The Romanian Justice Minister, Stelian Ion, encouraged all magistrates who want to change the justice system to courageously assume leadership positions. In a Facebook post on Justice Day, minister Ion said that the reform of the judiciary could no longer wait. “Many of those who sometimes criticize justice have taken to the streets to protect justice and the independence of magistrates. The latter should not be discouraged by criticism, they should understand the message given by society and respond by giving correct solutions according to the law”, minister Ion added. He reiterated his objectives at the helm of the justice ministry, which include increasing the pace of courts’ digitalization and interconnecting institutions that have common fields of activity. In another development, the National Anticorruption Directorate leadership has conveyed a message which shows that corruption lingers on in many areas of the Romanian society and for prosecutors to be efficient in their work, guarantees of independence must be preserved and reconsolidated.

Football ▪ Italy vs. Spain, on Tuesday, and England vs. Denmark, on Wednesday, are the two semifinals matches of the European Football Championship. On Saturday night, in the last quarterfinals, Denmark defeated the Czech Republic 2-1, in Baku, and England outclassed Ukraine 4-0, in Rome. Both semi-finals and the final will be played in London. Bucharest hosted four matches from the final tournament, three in the groups stage and one in the Round of 16. After a mediocre run in the preliminaries, Romania failed to qualify for the Euro. Instead, Romanias Under-23 team has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. Romania has been assigned to Group B and will face Honduras on July 22, South Korea on July 25 and New Zealand on July 28. Romanian footballers have qualified for the Olympics after reaching the semifinals of the European Under-21 Championship in 2019, hosted by Italy and San Marino. Romania has not participated in the Olympic football tournament since 1964, when it ranked 5th also in Tokyo. Before 1964, Romania’s team had participated only in the European Championships of Paris in 1924 and of Helsinki in 1952.

Rugby ▪ Romania’s national rugby team was defeated, on Saturday evening, on home turf, 17-24, in a test match, by Argentina’s national team. The match that officially inaugurated the Arch of Triumph National Rugby Stadium in Bucharest was an opportunity for the Romanian players to face a top team – said the Romanian teams English coach, Andrew Robinson. Argentina is ranked 9th in the world classification, while Romania is ranked 18th. Romanian’s team was to play another test match, against Scotland, on July 10, also in Bucharest, but the match was canceled, due to several COVID-19 contaminations in the British team. (LS)