June 11, 2021

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 11.06.2021, 13:55

Covid-19
update. The Covid infection rate continues to drop in Romania, with the entire
country now in the green tier. 103 new infections were reported today, as well as 150
new fatalities, 130 of which are from an earlier date but are only now being
recorded. Fewer than 1,300 Covid patients are still in hospital, including 255
in intensive care. Since the vaccine rollout kicked off in Romania in late
December, over 4.5 million people have been fully vaccinated. State secretary
in the health ministry Andrei Baciu said the EU digital Covid certificate will
become operational in Romania from 1st July. The document contains a
QR code and can come in electronic or printed format or both. It is meant to
certify that a person has been vaccinated against Covid-19, has had a negative
test result or has recovered from the infection.

G7 summit. G7 leaders are meeting in Cornwall, in south-east England, to
discuss the global crises generated by the pandemic and climate change. The UK,
which is holding the group’s annual presidency, has announced that 1 billion
doses of Covid vaccine will be donated to poorer nations following calls from
international charity and health organisations. The UK presidency also wishes
to urge pharmaceutical companies to provide vaccines on a not-for-profit basis
during the pandemic, after the model of Oxford/Astra Zeneca. G7 leaders will
also discuss mechanisms to prevent future pandemics. This is their first
face-to-face meeting in almost two years, with the host country beefing up
security to prepare for the protests that usually accompany G7 summits.

Aid. Romania will provide fresh humanitarian aid to the Republic of Moldova, an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population, to help it combat the Covid pandemic. More than 100,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are thus being delivered to Chişinău on Friday, according to the national committee coordinating Covid vaccination. 300,000 vaccine doses were previously donated to Moldova in two deliveries, in February and March. The vaccine was purchased by the Romanian health ministry as part of an agreement with the European Commission.

Euro 2020. Postponed because of the
pandemic, the European Football Championship gets under way today in Italy, the
first country in Europe to be hit hard by the pandemic. The opening match,
Italy vs. Turkey, will be held on the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, which will be
25% full. With the final tournament hosted by 19 countries for the first time
in its history, epidemiological rules vary from one nation to another. In
countries in eastern Europe, stadiums operate at 50% capacity, and even 100% in
Budapest. In western Europe the authorities are more cautious, and health
authorities in Bavaria, in Germany, only allowed for 20% of seats in the Munich
stadium to be occupied. As a first, Bucharest will also host four matches.
During the first three, the city’s National Arena will operate at 25% capacity,
while for the fourth match, from the round of last 16, 25,000 spectators will
be allowed on the stadium, accounting for half of its capacity. The National
Arena will host the following matches: Austria vs. North Macedonia on 13th
June, Ukraine vs. North Macedonia on 17th June and Ukraine vs. Austria
on 21st June in Group C; and a match as part of the round of last 16
on 28th June. Romania will also have two teams of referees, which is
another first for Romanian football in a final tournament.

Festival. The George Enescu classical
music festival will be held in Bucharest between 28th August and 26th
September under strict epidemiological conditions, organisers have announced. This
year’s edition, the festival’s 25th, will last four weeks instead of
three, and will take place at three different concert venues across the capital
city, the Palace Hall, which will seat half of its usual number of spectators,
and two other smaller venues, which will open at 70% capacity and where
spectators must present a Covid vaccination certificate or a negative test
result, apart from their tickets, to be able to attend the performances. The
festival’s line-up features 67 different performances and brings together 3,500
musicians, including leading international names and orchestras. The event is
named after Romania’s greatest composer, George Enescu, who was born 140 years
ago. (CM)