June 20, 2020 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 20.06.2020, 19:17

COVID-19 IN
ROMANIA – The number of daily COVID infections continues to rise, exceeding
300 new cases. Pressure on hospitals keeps mounting, as the number of sick who
recover continues to drop. According to the latest update, 1.500 people died to
the virus since the beginning of the outbreak. 23.730 infections have been
confirmed in the country, while 16.735 people have recovered. 190 patients are
in intensive care, nearly 1.330 people are in institutionalized quarantine and
another 80.000 are in home isolation under medical observation. The head of the
Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, said the state of alert might
be extended if the number of infections continues to rise. 3.531 Romanians
living abroad have tested positive for SARS CoV2 and 115 have died.

COVID-19 IN
THE WORLD – The World Health Organization has warned that the COVID-19
pandemic has entered a new and dangerous phase. WHO director, Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyessus has warned that the virus remains lethal, continuing to spread
rapidly. According to the WHO official, the daily number of new cases has hit a
record high globally, over 150.000, most of which are reported in North and
South America, the Middle East and South Asia. Brazil has reported nearly
55.000 new infections in only 24 hours, totaling over 1 million infections,
making it the second-most affected country in the world, after the United
States, Reuters informs. The virus has killed nearly 463.000 people around the
world, infected 8.8 million people, of whom 4.6 million have recovered, the
latest data published on the worldometers.info platform reveals.

ONLINE FORM – Air passengers entering
the country via Henri Coanda airport must file an online form stating their
epidemiological status. Available as of Friday, the form is aimed at reducing
waiting times and boosting the flow of arrivals, with the overall purpose of
preventing the SARS CoV2 virus from spreading. The form can be accessed on
bucharestairports.ro.

REPATRIATIONS – The Foreign Ministry announced the repatriation of
another 339 Romanian citizens from France and Great Britain on Thursday, as a
result of a joint effort of the Transport and Interior Ministries. The people
in question were affected by COVID measures and flight restrictions. The
authorities also helped 19 French, 2 Canadian, 1 Tunisian and 1 American return
to Romania. A number of British and French citizens were also returned to their
home countries.

BEACHES – Romania has four Blue Flag beaches, after last year only
three beaches got this rating, commonly used to signal a number of high
environmental and quality criteria necessary to obtain certification, such as
water quality, cleanliness and safety. Neighboring Bulgaria got Blue Flag
certification for 15 of its beaches this year. At global level, over 4.500
beaches got certified for 2020. Spain ranks 1, with 590 beaches, followed by
Greece, Turkey, Italy and France.

REACTION – The Foreign Ministry has dismissed the
statements of Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó as ungrounded and
disrespectful, after the latter has labeled President Klaus Iohannis an
extremist, anti-Hungarian politician in a Facebook post. The Hungarian official
said the President’s decision to challenge the constitutionality of a law on
opening a new crossing point on the Hungarian border goes against efforts to
bring the two countries closer together. The Foreign Ministry says the
President attacked the law because it violated the principle of separation of
state powers, and never meant to take action against Hungary or the Hungarian
minority in Romania. The Government already has an agreement in place with
Hungary to open a new border crossing point, which is why the Foreign Ministry
was surprised at the Hungarian official’s reaction, which it deems unjustified,
disproportionate and out of context.

WEATHER ALERTS – Meteorologists on Saturday have
issued a code orange alert for three quarters of Romania, in place until Sunday
morning, and a code yellow alert for the rest of the country. The weather will
be unstable during the interval, with hail, thunderstorms and heavy rainfall
expected to trigger massive floods in the target areas. A code red has been
called for Caras-Severin, Timis, Mures and Harghita counties. The latest heavy
rain has wrought havoc in scores of towns and villages, particularly in the
southwest and center of the country, brigades of firefighters being called to
pump water out of dozens of households.

(Translated by V. Palcu)