November 25, 2020

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 25.11.2020, 13:55

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA -
President Klaus Iohannis is today holding a meeting to assess and present
measures aimed at managing the COVID-19 pandemic, to be attended by Prime
Minister Ludovic Orban, Health Minister Nelu Tătaru and the head of the
Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat. Finance Minister Florin Cîţu
on Wednesday signed the €12-million down payment to the European Commission for
the purchase of the COVID-19 vaccine. Romania wants to make sure it will be
among the first countries to have access to the vaccine in the coming period.
In other news, the Romanian Red Cross has started an anti-COVID-19 campaign by
raising public awareness regarding the virus. Over 23,000 pupils in 40 counties
and 4 districts of the capital city will be attending health education classes
over the next four months, both in schools and online. Aimed at also providing
them with emotional support, the classes will be delivered by Red Cross
volunteers. At the same time, some 190 thousand adults from rural or at-risk communities
will receive information regarding the risks presented by the SARS-CoV-2 virus,
and will be counseled concerning the psychological weight of the pandemic. On
Wednesday, another 9,700 new COVID-19 infections and 168 related deaths were
reported in the last 24 hours. Over 1,200 people are in intensive care.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – The global number of SARS-CoV-2 infections has
exceeded 60 million today. 1.4 million people have died to the virus while 41.5
million have recovered, reads the latest worldometers.info update. The World
Health Organization has recommended people refrain from attending family
reunions this year and celebrate Christmas online this year. In Europe several
states have made public plans to ease lockdown restrictions for the winter
holidays. The British Government has sanctioned Christmas bubbles of a maximum
of three households meeting indoors. Germany too will allow gatherings of a
maximum of ten people for Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. In turn,
France has announced a three-stage relaxation plan. Starting Saturday, shops
will reopen under strict hygiene conditions and with working hours ending at 9
PM. Religious services will resume, albeit with a maximum attendance limit.
Physical exercise and outdoor walks will now be permitted within a 20-km radius
from home for a maximum period of three hours. In Spain, the Government wants
to limit Christmas and New Year’s social and family gatherings to a maximum
number of 6 people. The authorities here are also considering introducing a
nighttime curfew between 1-6 AM on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

MEETING – Prime Minister Ludovic Orban and Economy Minister Virgil
Popescu today met with representatives of the hospitality sector, one of the
most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Talks focused on offsetting losses incurred
by this sector due to the pandemic. Pirme Minister Orban argued in favor of
extending the furlough status of all employees whose activity has been affected
by the health crisis and introducing flexible working hours so as to better meet
the needs of the hospitality industry. Consultations between the Government and
hospitality representatives will continue over the coming period. The Government
has so far given tax breaks and continued to pay unemployment benefits to
employees put in furlough. The Government has also adopted a state-aid scheme
whereby hospitality businesses are to receive 20% of the turnover they reported
the previous year. We recall all restaurants are currently shut down in Romania
due to the high infection rate, and those restaurants with exterior seating
have low numbers of clients due to the cold weather. Business owners in the
sector say their losses amount even to 80%, and expect some 100 thousand jobs
to be lost by the end the year.

SMEs – 58% of Romanian SMEs have enough funds to last them 1-2 months,
while 22% estimate the money will run out in 2-4 months, a recent survey
conducted by the Sierra Quadrant & Frames consultancy company reveals. Made
public on Wednesday, the document shows
that the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with restrictive measures
introduced by the authorities, have severely impacted the Romanian economy, the
SME sector in particular, where financial problems have been most serious.
According to the survey, 61% of respondents say sales are the main problem
behind their current troubles, 14% indicated financial deadlock to be the main
cause, 12% say the decrease in supplier credits is responsible for their
current financial distress, while the limited access to bank financing is also
rated as a cause with an 8% response share. The survey was conducted over
November 10-15 using a sample population of 300 businesses operating in various
sector of the economy, from trade, financing, agriculture, energy, IT and
others. A total of 1,232 took part in the survey, representing entrepreneurs,
people in middle and top management positions, all higher education graduates.

FRANCOPHONIE – Romania’s Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu highlighted the
actions our country has undertaken this year to support the Francophonie.
According to the Foreign Ministry, Bogdan Aurescu on Tuesday attended the 37th
session of the Francophonie Ministerial Conference held in videoconference
format. In his speech, Minister Aurescu referred to Romania’s contribution to
peace-keeping and post-conflict reconstruction UN- and EU-led missions in
French-speaking countries. In this respect, Romania provided French-language
training to high-ranking military officials taking part in the missions,
funding and co-organizing scholarships for doctor and post-doctoral studies.
The Conference is taking place over November 24-25 in the context of marking 50
years of Francophonie in 2020. On this occasion the Conference also adopted the
2020-2025 Economic Strategy, which addresses, among other things, the economic
fallout of the coronacrisis, economic recovery and sustainable development in
French-speaking states. Romania has been a full-member of the International
Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) since 1993. (V.Palcu)