October 24, 2021 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 24.10.2021, 20:00

COVID-19 New restrictions take effect on Monday in Romania, as the country is struggling with an unprecedented epidemiological crisis. For 30 days, the digital COVID certificate will be compulsory in most public places, except for food shops and drugstores, face covering will be compulsory in all indoor and outdoor public areas, and a ban on outdoor concerts and shows, as well as on private events, including weddings, conferences and workshops, will be in place. Also on Monday, public and private kindergartens, primary, secondary schools and high schools will take a 2-week break. After-schools will also be closed, although nurseries will stay open. Companies with more than 50 employees will organise shifts or remote work, sports competitions will be held without public in attendance, and a night curfew will also be introduced, between 10 pm and 5 am, for the unvaccinated. On Sunday the authorities reported 11,725 new SARS-CoV-2 cases and 389 COVID-related deaths in 24 hours.

VACCINE A new batch of over 300,000 doses of Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is set to arrive in Romania on Monday and will be distributed across the country. So far Romania has received more than 13.6 million doses of Pfizer BioNTech serum, and almost 9 million of them have already been used. Romania is also using AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson&Johnson vaccines. The vaccination campaign has been energised in recent days as the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections surged and as people see their access to various activities restricted without the digital COVID certificate. Since the start of the vaccination programme in late December, some 5.9 million people have completed the vaccination plan.

GOVERNMENT The head of the National Liberal Party and interim PM Florin Cîţu said on Sunday that after the Liberals nominated Nicolae Ciucă as prime minister designate, it is time for the parties that voted the no-confidence motion to prove responsible and to back a cabinet made up of the Liberals and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania. This was a reference to the Social Democratic Party and Save Romania Union, the latter formerly partners with the Liberals in the ruling coalition. Meanwhile, the prime minister designate carried on negotiations over parliamentary support for his new cabinet. Nicolae Ciucă discussed on Saturday with representatives of ethnic minorities and with the head of the Social Democratic Party in opposition, Marcel Ciolacu. The Social Democrats made their temporary support for a minority government conditional on the inclusion of 10 urgent measures suggested by the Social Democrats to overcome the healthcare and energy crises. Save Romania Union left the ruling coalition over disagreements with PM Florin Cîţu and backed a no-confidence motion initiated by the Social Democrats against the Cîţu government. The first politician designated by president Klaus Iohannis to form a new government, Save Romania Union leader Dacian Cioloş, failed to get endorsed by Parliament.

CENTENNIAL On Monday Romania marks the centennial of the birth of Michael I of Romania, the countrys last king. On this occasion, public radio stations will broadcast a show entitled “Romania needs art,” produced jointly with the Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation, benefitting the Young Talents Programme. The National Art Museum will also open to visitors the historic areas of the Royal Palace. The public will be able to visit the Royal Dining Hall, the Throne Hall and the Voivodes Staircase, as well as an exhibition on Fragments of memory: royal potraits, comprising art works depicting King Michael at various stages of life. The 25th of October is also the Day of the Romanian Army, and the “King Ferdinand I” National Military Museum will open a temporary exhibition entitled “Michael I: a century of history.” King Michael I passed away on the 5th December 2017. Thousands of people, who saw him as a model of dignity, patriotism and duty towards his country, queued for days to pay tribute to the late king in Bucharest. He was buried in the Mausoleum of the Royal Family in Curtea de Argeş (south), where his predecessors, kings Carol I, Ferdinand and Carol II also rest.

UN The values and principles of the United Nations Charter remain relevant 76 years later, and are the basis of international relations today, says the Romanian Foreign Ministry in a message on UN Day. According to the institution, the COVID-19 pandemic has once again proved that global issues require joint solutions, solidarity and international cooperation, and in this respect, supporting and strengthening multilateralism, founded on the UN system, are essential. “In its 66 years of UN membership, Romania has stood out as an active supporter and advocate of the achievements of multilateral diplomacy. The Romanian diplomacy will continue to actively promote the UN goals, in its efforts to ensure progress towards a safer, freer and more thriving world,” the message also reads. The United Nations Day is celebrated on the 24th October, when the UN Charter entered into force in 1945. Romania joined the organisation on 14th December 1955.

HANDBALL Romanian womens handball champions, CSM Bucharest, won at home on Sunday against Buducnost Podgorica of Montenegro, 30-22, in a Champions League Goup A match. This is the 3rd consecutive win for CSM, which in the previous leg defeated away from home the German side Borussia Dortmund. The Romanian team is next to take on the French side Brest Bretagne Handball, on 30th October. (tr. A.M. Popescu)