March 9, 2020

A roundup of domestic and international news.

Newsroom, 09.03.2020, 13:55

EPIDEMIC – In Romania, the National Committee for Emergency Situations is convening again today to decide whether or not schools and kindergartens should be closed down in the context of the coronavirus epidemic. The Committee also met on Sunday evening when it took a series of measures aimed to prevent the spread of the virus. Flights from and to Italy have been suspended until March 23. Airlines are also obliged to inform passengers travelling to Romania with layovers from Italy, China, Iran and South Korea that they will be quarantined when they arrive in Romania. People coming from these four countries and arriving by road will also be quarantined or asked to self-isolate at home. People who do not comply with the isolation measure may be fined with 4,000 euros. Also, people arriving in Romania who do not accurately state the country they come from face criminal charges for making false statements. As many as 15 people in Romania have so far tested positive to the virus. Of them 5 people have been declared healed and discharged. All other patients are in good condition. Also in Romania, 27 people are under institutionalized quarantine and 12,789 are isolated at home, under medical monitoring. Italy, which is home to the largest Romanian community, is most affected by the coronavirus epidemic after China, and has the highest mortality rate from the virus: 5%.

REPORT – In 2018 Romania had the highest mortality rate in the EU, that is 6 deaths per 1,000 live births, almost double the level of 3.4% to 1,000 live births in the EU, Eurostat has reported on Monday. Bulgaria, with 5.8 deaths and Malta with 5.6 deaths come next, while the lowest mortality rates have been reported in Estonia (1.6 deaths) and Slovenia (1.7 deaths). During the 10 years from 2008 to 2018, the infant mortality rate in the EU fell from 4.2 deaths per 1,000 live births to 3.4 deaths per 1,000 live births. Extending the analysis to the last 20 years, the infant mortality rate was almost halved (6.6 deaths per 1 000 in 1998).

GOVERNMENT – The leadership of the Romanian parliament is today deciding the date of the vote of investiture for the cabinet of the PM designate Florin Citu. Except for the Finance Ministry, the government has the same ministers for all other portfolios as in the previous government, headed by Ludovic Orban. As many as 233 votes are needed for the Government to be endoresed. The Social Democrats have already announced they will vote against. Florin Citu has been designated to form the government after Ludovic Orban had to resign following a Constitutional Court ruling.

MIGRANTS – Turkish President Recep Erdogan is today travelling to Brussels for a one-day working visit, amid tensions between Turkey and the European Union over migrants and refugees. Thousands of migrants headed for Turkeys land border with Greece after Erdogans government said last week that it would no longer prevent migrants and refugees from crossing over to EU territory. Greece deployed riot police and border guards to repel people trying to enter the country from the sea or by land. European Union foreign ministers meeting in Croatia on Friday adopted a joint declaration in which they voiced solidarity with Greece, Bulgaria and Cyprus and their wish to further support the protection of the Union’s external borders. The EU will further support Turkey for the huge number of refugees it hosted on its territory and is expecting Ankara to observe its commitments taken under the accord signed in 2016. The German government has announced that a coalition of volunteer EU countries plan to take over up to 15 hundred migrant children who are currently blocked on the Greek islands, as a humanitarian support measure. EU Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Ylva Johansson, will travel to Athens of Thursday to discuss with the Greek authorities the problem of the unaccompanied Syrian migrant children, their relocation in EU countries and the drawing up and financing of some programmes for the migrants who will stay in Greece.

TENNIS – The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells will not take place due to concerns about the coronavirus outbreak, organizers have announced. Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Ashleigh Barty were among the players expected to take part in the tournament which was due to start in California on Monday. Indian Wells is the first Premier Mandatory event of the WTA season and is a Masters 1000 event on the mens tour. Romanian Simona Halep, no. 2 in the world, had previously withdrawn from the competition due to health problems, just as the Romanian born Canadian Bianca Andreescu, no. 4 in the world and title holder. Simona Halep has been designated by the WTA website best player of February, due to her winning the title in Dubai.

(Tranaslated by Elena Enache)