November 22, 2021 UPATE

A news update

Newsroom, 22.11.2021, 19:58

COVID – In Romania, the number of coronavirus infections continues to drop, 1,550 new cases of COVID-19 being reported in the last 24 hours. 154 deaths were also reported, of which 29 were registered prior to the reference period. More than 11,000 people infected with SARS-CoV-2 are hospitalized. There are 1,539 patients in ICUs, a smaller number compared to the previous day, and 150 of them have a certificate attesting to their vaccination, according to the authorities. The average infection rate is now below 3.5 cases per thousand inhabitants, and more than half of Romania’s counties are no longer in the red scenario. The head of the COVID vaccination campaign, Valeriu Gheorghiţă, warned that there is a risk that the scenario experienced by Germany, which quickly passed from the 4th to the 5th wave of the pandemic, will be repeated in Romania, where the vaccination rate is low. An even greater danger would be the emergence of a mutation of the coronavirus that bypasses the bodys immune response, said Gheorghiţă. The number of fully vaccinated people is close to 7.2 million.

Government – Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis on Monday signed the decree on the appointment of the Liberal senator Nicolae Ciucă to the position of prime minister. He said, after consultations with the parliamentary parties and groups, that Ciucas nomination is supported by a solid majority in Parliament, which includes PSD, PNL, UDMR and the group of national minorities other than the Hungarian one. Klaus Iohannis received the representatives of PNL, PSD and UDMR simultaneously during the consultations. He also spoke with the leaders of the nationalist opposition party, AUR, while USR, a former junior partner of the Liberals in the government, boycotted the presidents invitation, accusing him of being the godfather of a monstrous coalition. According to the Constitution, the candidate to the position of prime minister has ten days since nomination to ask Parliament for a vote of confidence on the governing program and the entire list of ministers. PSD spokesman Radu Oprea said that, in the future Executive, the Social Democrats would have a ministerial position for the Secretary General of the Government, as well as the portfolios of Finance, National Defense, Economy, Transport, Agriculture, Health, Labor, Culture and Youth. UDMR keeps the three ministries it already manages – Local Development, Environment and Sports. And the Liberals are left with the Ministries of Justice, Interior, Foreign Affairs, Investment and European Projects, Energy, Education, Research and Tourism. According to the media, Liberal leaders across Romania and from Bucharest have virulently criticized the PNL president, the outgoing prime minister Florin Cîţu, because he ceded too many key portfolios to the Social Democrats. A retired general, Ciucă had been appointed last month by President Iohannis to form the government, but he relinquished his mandate after it became clear that the minority government made up of PNL-UDMR would not receive the investiture vote. Earlier, the USR government proposed by the partys leader, Dacian Cioloş, was rejected by senators and deputies. If he is invested, Ciucă will become the first career soldier to lead a government of post-communist Romania. His first nomination came shortly after an opinion poll confirmed that the Army and the Church are on the first places in a classification of institutions enjoying the highest degree of Romanians trust. According to the survey, conducted by the Laboratory for Information Warfare Analysis and Strategic Communication, 87% of Romanians say they trust the Army, 70% – the Church, and 67% – the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Romanian Academy. Over 40% of respondents consider corruption and the incompetence of the political class as the main threats to Romania.

Visit — The President of the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet republic with a majority Romanian-speaking), pro-Western Maia Sandu, pays an official visit to neighboring Romania on Tuesday, at the invitation of her counterpart, Klaus Iohannis. It is the first visit to Romania since the early parliamentary elections of July 11, won by the presidential party Action and Solidarity (PAS) by a landslide. The visit takes place in the context of the celebration, in 2021, of 30 years since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, after in 1991, Chisinau proclaimed its independence from Moscow. The visit, states the Presidential Administration in Bucharest, is a very good opportunity to reconfirm the special, privileged relationship established under the Strategic Partnership for the Republic of Moldova’s European integration, based on a common language, culture and history. The political consultations of the two presidents will strengthen the excellent and substantial bilateral cooperation at the political, economic and sectoral levels and will stimulate the advancement of joint projects of strategic interest in the fields of energy, transport, health, education and IT. The focus will be on those projects aimed at connecting the Republic of Moldova to the European Union space, through Romania, and at bringing real and concrete benefits to all its citizens – the abovementioned source also shows.

Tennis – Romania has five representatives in the WTA top 100, the world ranking of professional tennis players, published on Monday. The former world leader Simona Halep holds the best position, 20th, but this is her weakest ranking at the end of the season over the last nine years. If in 2013 she finished on 11th position, Halep was then in the Top 10 every time except this year, when she started in 2nd position. Sorana Cîrstea remains on 38th position, Irina Begu on 60th place, Jaqueline Cristian on 71st position, and Gabriela Ruse on 85th. In doubles, Romania has six players in the top 100: Raluca Olaru is still on 36th place, Monica Niculescu maintains the 39th place, Irina Begu dropped one place on 64th position, while Irina Bara managed a jump of 12 places and now being on 84th position, after the title she won this weekend in Montevideo. The other two Romanians in the doubles top 100 are Andreea Mitu (98) and Gabriela Ruse (99). (LS)