October 13, 2020

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 13.10.2020, 13:55

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – The infection rate
has exceeded 2 per thousand inhabitants in the capital city Bucharest and another
two counties. The rate stands at 1.5 in another 12 counties, where the
authorities have introduced new restrictions. Yesterday, Prime Minister Ludovic
Orban announced he would recommend the cancelling of private events, or capping
the maximum number of attendants to 20. Many events organizers do not comply
with health safety measures, the Prime Minister said. Another 2,069 new
infections were reported in Romania on Sunday, most of these signaled in
Bucharest and in Iaşi and Prahova counties. 56 new fatalities were also
recorded, while 628 patients are in intensive care.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – Governments across
the globe are talking about a second wave of the pandemic and introducing
harsher restrictions to stop the virus from spreading. Over 38 million
infections have been reported since the start of the pandemic 10 months ago. 29
million of the people infected with the coronavirus have recovered. After being
one of the most affected countries in the world in March this year, when it
reported some 36,000 fatalities, Italy today has released an update of
anti-COVID measures for the next month. Bars, restaurants and clubs in the
Czech Republic will remain closed starting tomorrow until November 3, while
most schools in this country will move to remote teaching. In Jerusalem, the
Ministerial Committee for coronavirus is today convening to analyze the latest
developments. Israel has entered the fourth consecutive week with restrictions
in place at national level. Meanwhile, American researchers have reported the
first confirmed case of coronavirus reinfection, which takes the global number
to five. The other cases of reinfection were reported in Belgium, the
Netherlands, Hong Kong and Ecuador. The international community needs to do
more to deal with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IMF
General Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Monday.

EUROPEAN COUNCIL – President Klaus
Iohannis will be attending the European Council meeting held in Brussels on
October 15 and 16. According to the Presidency, high on the agenda are hot
topics such as the COVID-19 pandemic, EU-UK relations as well as combating
climate change. Concerning the ongoing health crisis, talks will focus on the
current status of the pandemic, measures to limit the spread of the virus, the
economic and social impact of the pandemic, economic recovery and the
development of COVID-19 vaccines.

ELECTION – Over 20,000
Romanians living abroad have registered for postal voting for the December 6
legislative election. Eligible voters residing abroad who wish to cast their
votes in the election must register until October 22 on www.votstrainatate.ro.
State Secretary with the Department for Romanians Worldwide, Ovidiu Burduşa,
said there might be fewer voting polls this year set up abroad, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.

STATISTICS – The National
Liberal Party in power grabbed the highest number of votes at national level in
the recent local election, both in terms of the number of city halls, 34.58%,
and in terms of the local and county councils. According to data published by
the Central Election Bureau, ranking second is the Social-Democratic Party in
opposition, with a score of 30.34% of the total number of city halls. The
Social Democrats outrank the Liberals in terms of mayor and county councilmen
seats. Ranking third at national level is the Save-Romania Union, with a little
under 7%.

DRAFT LAW – Romanian deputies
are today debating a draft law tabled by the Social Democratic Party on the
payment of hazard bonus to teaching staff and auxiliary personnel, who are
exposed to COVID infections. The hazard pay will stand at €400 and €300 per
month, respectively. The beneficiaries will get the additional financial
payment throughout any state of emergency or alert. The Chamber of Deputies is
the decisional body in this case.

QUALITY OF AIR – Environment
Minister Costel Alexe on Tuesday is holding a press conference jointly with
Minister for European Funds, Marcel Boloş. The two will be signing a funding
contract for the modernization and expansion of the National Network for
Monitoring Quality of Air. The project seeks to build a national air pollution
forecast system for large urban centers. Earlier this year, Costel Alexe
announced another 60 new monitoring stations will be added to the network, an
investment worth € 3.17 million, of which €2.17 million is covered by the
Environment Fund Administration, while the rest will be funded by the EU. Right
now the network totals 148 operational stations, 8 of which in the capital city
Bucharest.

(Translated
by V. Palcu)