November 16, 2020 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 16.11.2020, 20:00
Fire – Inspections are underway in ICUs across Romania following the fire that killed 10 patients on Saturday evening at the Emergency Hospital in Piatra Neamt (Northeast). The patients, who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and were receiving treatment in the ICU, could not be saved despite the efforts of the medical staff. The fire was caused by a short circuit, according to preliminary searches. Another 6 patients in a nearby room are in a serious condition. The management of the Public Health Directorate in Neamt said in that in order to treat more COVID-19 patients, the ICU of the County Emergency Hospital in Piatra Neamt was reconfigured on the day of the fire, without having previously asked for an approval in this sense. Prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation.
Covid -19 Romania – The city of Sibiu, in central Romania, introduced a 2-week lockdown on Monday, after the combined contamination rate in 14 days exceeded 12 cases per one thousand inhabitants. The people of Sibiu will need documents from their work places or sworn statements to be able to travel inside or between the localities in lockdown. Shops will be open until 10 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday shops in shopping malls will be closed, except for pharmacies and food stores. People over the age of 65 can go shopping between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and religious services will be held outdoors. Over 5,000 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the past 24 hours, along with 149 deaths, which takes the total death toll to over 9,000. The number of patients in intensive care is near 1,200. PM Ludovic Orban said, after talks with the health minister, that an increase of the ICU capacity by at least 200 beds is planned for this week.
Moldova – The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis Monday had a phone conversation with the President elect of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, during which they have agreed on extending and deepening the strategic partnership for Moldovas European integration. A first step in this sense will be the official visit which the Romanian president is going to make to Chisinau in the coming period, reads a presidential administration news release. Klaus Iohannis said that Maia Sandus result represented a victory of democracy and marked a decisive step towards Moldovas irreversible European path, which Romania has permanently supported and will continue to support without reservation. In Brussels, the head of the European Council Charles Michel promised that the EU is ready to strengthen the partnership with Chisinau. In turn, the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Maia Sandu, and said her victory was a clear call for fighting corruption and restoring the rule of law. The EU is prepared to support Moldova, Von der Leyen also said. The pro-European candidate Maia Sandu defeated the pro-Russian candidate Igor Dodon, in the 2nd round of the presidential election in Moldova.
Gaudeamus – The 27th edition of the Gaudeamus Book Fair organized by Radio Romania started online on Monday. The event will end on Sunday and will take place exclusively online due to the new coronavirus pandemic. On the website of the event, gaudeamus.ro, you can find more than 100 companies, among which prestigious book publishers and distributors, music and educational games, with individual presentation pages dedicated to the fair. Book lovers can also access the participants virtual stands and readers can buy books online. As many as 200 events can be followed online. Writer Norman Manea, nominated several times for the Nobel Prize for Literature, is the honorary president of this edition of the Gaudeamus book fair.
Covid-19 world – There are more than 55 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 around the world, with 1.3 million deaths reported, according to data provided by worldometers.info. The biggest number of cases and deaths from Covid-19 is reported by the US (over 11.3 million cases and around 1 million new cases in one week). India has so far reported 8.8 million cases and around 130 thousand deaths, and Brazil more 5.8 million cases with 165 thousand deaths. Europe is equally affected by the 2nd wave of the pandemic, with France and Russia having exceeded 1.9 million cases. Spain is nearing 1.5 million and Great Britain 1.4 million. Moderna announced on Monday its experimental vaccine had a 94.5% effectiveness rate in stage 3 trials. This is the second vaccine produced by an American company and having encouraging results, after Pfizers, produced jointly with BioNTech, which also reported over 90% protection in clinical trials. (tr. A.M. Popescu, L. Simion)
