August 13, 2020

Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 13.08.2020, 14:19

COVID-19 The
Strategic Communication Group in Bucharest has today announced another 1,454
new Covid infections. 66,631 cases have been confirmed in Romania since the beginning of the pandemic more
than five months ago. Over 31,547 patients have been declared cured and
released from hospitals whereas 485 patients are still in intensive care units.
The death toll stands at 2,860. Romania’s Health Minister Nelu Tataru has today
said that Romania is in a situation in which it needs to extend the state of
alert due to the novel coronavirus. The Romanian president Klaus Iohannis has
again made an appeal for responsibility asking people to wear masks and keep
the social distancing. He specified that local elections are possible on
September 27th as set by Parliament, provided all the prevention
measures are being observed. According to him, Romania has already applied to
the EU for 10 million doses of vaccine when this is ready and certified at the
EU level.

POLL
Almost one quarter of the Romanian employees say they need to take steps
towards a new career as the companies they are presently working for have been
seriously affected by the present economic context. A poll conducted by an
online recruitment platform shows that more than 20% of those interviewed are
ready to start from scratch in their new careers. Most of the Romanian
employees, (70%) are looking for a secure job from the context of the present
Covid pandemic. A quarter of the interviewees have completely ruled out jobs in
the Horeca industry while 22% believes the best jobs are those in companies or
fields tightly connected to the online environment. The poll was carried out
between July 1st and the 10th on almost 13 hundred
people.

FESTIVAL The Independent International Film Festival ‘Anonimul’ is underway in
Sfantu Gheorghe, south-eastern Romania. A screening of the multi-award winner ‘Colectiv’
has been scheduled for today. This documentary, produced and directed by
Alexander Nanau is depicting events taking place in the first year after a devastating
blaze that killed 64 in a night-club in Bucharest five years ago. The plot chiefly
follows the relationship between the authorities and journalists in their
attempt to find out the truth about the event. Until August 16th the
17th edition of the Anonimul festival will be held outdoors with a
maximum of 400 participants in every screening in compliance with measures
imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. This festival also includes a short-reel section
involving Romanian and international productions as well as feature film screenings
followed by talks between film-makers and audience. 50 productions are vying
for a prize in the short-reel competition of the aforementioned festival.

TENNIS Romanian tennis players Simona Halep and Irina Begu are today playing
in the round of 16 of the WTA tournament in Prague a competition with over 200
thousand dollars in prize money. Halep, the odds-on favourite and the world’s
second best player, is up against Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic
while Irina Begu will be playing Leonie Kung of Switzerland. Ana Bogdan of
Romania has already qualified for the quarters after the withdrawal of her
opponent, Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine, and will be up against Kristyna Pliscova
of the Czech Republic. In the doubles contest, Monica Niculescu and Raluca
Olaru are to take on Lidia Morozova of Belarus and Yana Sizikova of Russia.

LIST
Germany has added Bucharest and another 10 Romanian counties to its list of high
risk areas during the Covid-19 pandemic. The new areas in Romania are the
counties of Bacau, Braila, Brasov, Dambovita, Galati, Gorj, Ilfov, Prahova,
Vaslui and Vrancea. According to the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest the measure
has come into effect since 7 counties were already part of the aforementioned
list, which now includes 17 Romanian counties as well as the capital city. Under
the new regulations, all people coming to Germany from one of the
aforementioned regions in Romania, irrespective of their citizenship, must
produce a negative Covid-19 test 48 hours before their arrival, which has to be
translated in German or English or take a free test 72 hours upon their arrival.
Those who do not comply with the rules could be subjected to fines up to 25
thousand Euros. If the test is done in Germany, subjects are requested to go into
self isolation until the result is known. Travelers transiting Germany do not
have to comply with the aforementioned rules.

(translated by
bill)