September 5, 2021

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 05.09.2021, 13:50

COVID-19 – The daily number of COVID-19
infections is on the rise. The pandemic is again putting additional strain on
medical units across the country, as for several days the number of infections has
exceeded the 1,500 mark. 1,242 new cases of COVID infection were reported on
Sunday, in addition to 11 related fatalities. Over 3,000 people are being
treated for COVID-19 in hospitals across the country, while 372 people are currently
in intensive care. Health Minister Ioana Mihăilă announced additional ICU beds
will be made available in Bucharest, where the largest number of new cases was
reported. Over 6,600 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 on Saturday, while
5.1 million people have completed the vaccination scheme. On the other hand,
Romania has sent 100 thousand rapid antigen COVID tests to neighboring Moldova.
Romania’s ambassador to Chişinău, Daniel Ioniţă, said the donation reflects the
special relations between Romania and the Republic of Moldova. So far Romania
has donated 500,000 anti-COVID-19 vaccine shots to neighboring Moldova.

POLITICAL
CRISIS – President Klaus Iohannis intervened in the political crisis in
Romania, calling on the USR-PLUS alliance to resume dialogue within the ruling
coalition and come up with a viable and reasonable solution to overcome the
political deadlock. USR-PLUS didn’t back down and continued to call for the
resignation of Liberal Prime Minister, Florin Cîţu. Their decision was
motivated by the Prime Minister’s choice to dismiss the USR-PLUS Justice
Minister, Stelian Ion, who opposed one of the government’s infrastructure
projects. The president considers the Alliance’s decision to sign and file a
no-confidence motion against their own government, alongside AUR, an
ultra-nationalist party, is an insult against all Romanians. In turn, Prime
Minister Florin Cîţu also called on his junior coalition partners to show
responsibility, saying that making a new nomination for the position of Justice
Minister would immediately solve the problem. The motion filed by USR-PLUS and
AUR was signed by 122 MPs. For the document to be adopted in Parliament, a
minimum of 234 votes are required, which means USR-PLUS and AUR will need the support
of other parliamentary parties.

LIST -
The updated list of countries representing an epidemiological risk was
published on Sunday by the National Committee for Emergency Situations. Serbia,
Estonia and Albania have entered the red zone, while all arrivals from this
country will enter quarantine, unless they provide proof of vaccination or that
they had the disease. Norway, Austria and Bosnia Herzegovina have now entered
the yellow zone, in addition to Spain and Lichtenstein, where infection rates
have dropped. People coming from these areas will not enter quarantine if they
provide proof of vaccination, of a PCR negative test or if they’ve had the
disease.

DIPLOMACY
– The Romanian Ministry for Foreign Affairs over September 7-9 is organizing
the Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomacy, the Ministry announced in a release
published on Sunday. This year’s theme is titled Diplomatic action to
consolidate Romania’s resilience. Traditionally organized around Romanian Diplomacy
Day, this year the event will be held online and will involve the participation
of the heads of Romania’s diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad.
Attending will also be the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Nicolae
Popescu, who will be paying an official visit to Bucharest, the Foreign
Minister of Greece, Nikos Denidas, who will also be in Romania for an official
visit. Keynote speeches will be delivered by Italy’s Minister for Foreign
Affairs and International Cooperation, Luigi Di Maio, the Indian Foreign
Minister, Australia’s Minister of Trade, Tourism and Investments, as well as
European Commission and OSCE officials. European Commission vice-president for
democracy and demography, Dubravka Šuica, the Secretary General of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Helga Schmid, who will give online
presentations, as well as Thomas Garrett, the Secretary General of the
Community of Democracies, who will attend the meeting physically.

PATZAICHIN
– The several-time Olympic canoe champion Ivan Patzaichin passed away on Sunday,
aged 71, the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee writes on its Facebook page.
Ivan Patzaichin won seven medals at the Olympic Games, four gold and three
silver. He took part in five editions of the Games, from 1968 to 1984. He is
also the holder of 22 world titles. He went on to become a great coach, his
trainees winning 150 Olympic, world and European medals. He was the
vice-president of the Romanian Federation of Kayak-Canoe and the vice-president
of the Romanian Olympic Committee. Elected in 1990, Juan Antonia Samaranch, the
chairman of the International Olympic Committee, bestowed on Patzaichin the
Platinum Wreath, the highest Olympic distinction, becoming the only Romanian to
hold this title. In 2000 he was given the Faithful Servant national order in
rank of knight. In April, 2019, Ivan Patzaichin was also awarded the Golden
Wreath, the highest distinction of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee.
In 2019, the presidency awarded Patzaichin The Romanian Star national order
in rank of knight.

TENNIS -
Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep, is today playing Elina Svitolina of
Ukraine in the round of 16 at the US Open. Halep has played Svitolina 10 times
at WTA level, the head-to-head score being 5-5. Halep’s best performance at the
US Open is the semi-final played in 2015. Also at the US Open, Horia Tecău and Kevin Krawietz of Germany have
advanced to the round of 16 in the men’s doubles, after ousting Frederik
Nielsen of Denmark and Vasek Pospisil of Canada, 7-6, 7-6. Their next opponents
will be Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Andreio Molteni of Argentina.

FOOTBALL
– Romania’s national football team is today playing Lichtenstein in Bucharest
in the 2022 World Cup preliminaries. On Thursday, Romania defeated Iceland and
now ranks 4th in Group J with 4 points. Also today, Iceland is
playing North Macedonia while Germany will take on Armenia. Ranking first is
Armenia, followed by Germany. North Macedonia is in 3rd place.
Romania will next play North Macedonia on September 8 in Skopje. (VP)