June 22, 2020
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 22.06.2020, 14:08
PARLIAMENT — Romania’s Parliament started on Monday its last working week before the holiday. The Liberals, in power, have initiated procedures for the revocation of Renate Weber from her position as Ombudsman, due to the fact that, by notifying the Constitutional Court on the taxation of special pensions, she exceeded her attributions. The Chamber of Deputies is debating, on Tuesday, the simple motion tabled by the opposition Social Democrats against the Health Ministyer Nelu Tataru, whom they accuse of not having managed the health crisis properly. They also say the Health Ministry blocks the chronical patients’ access to treatment. The vote will be held on Wednesday.
CORONAVIRUS — The latest report of the Bucharest authorities indicates 315 new cases of coronavirus. This is the fifth report with over 300 new infections. The number of patients in intensive care is 195 and the number of deaths has exceeded 15 hundred. Authorities are conducting further checks to see if rules such as wearing protective masks and observing safety distance are respected.
COVID-19 — The number of global infections with Covid-19 has exceeded 9 million. Around 470 thousand people have died to the virus and 4.8 million have recovered. The World Health Organisation reported on Sunday an increase by over 183,000 new cases in 24 hours alone, the largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases by its count. WHO said Brazil led the way with 54,771 cases, followed by the U.S. with 36,617.
INFECTIONS — The Romanian Foreign Ministry has announced that German authorities have asked for the support of Romania’s Consular Office as regards the situation of Romanian workers at a slaughter house in Germany, where over 1,300 people have been infected with the coronavirus. Local authorities have confirmed that all people under quarantine are provided food and hygiene products and that checks are being conducted to establish if hygiene norms have been observed at the slaughter house. Around 5,900 people have been tested so far, of whom over 1,300 have tested positive. Romanian authorities have asked for information as regards the Romanian citizens infected and the 17 Romanian citizens who fled the quarantine. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the town where the hotbed was identified has been partially isolated.
BACCALAUREATE — Over 155 hundred Romanian high school students have today had the first exam of the Baccalaureate — the discipline Romanian Language and Literature. Between June 11 and 17 they had their foreign language proficiency and digital competences tested. Exams are being held in special conditions this year, due to the pandemic. There will be a special session of the Baccalaureate for students who cannot take part in the first one, for health reasons.
WEATHER — The weather continues to be unstable in Romania. A code orange alert for storms is in place until Tuesday morning for half of the country, and a code yellow alert has been issued for 14 counties. Heavy storms that could lead to flooding have also been announced for southern and south-eastern Romania. Maximum temperatures range from 21 to 29 degrees Celsius. The noon reading in Bucharest was 24 degrees.
(Translated by Elena Enache)
