March 24, 2021

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 24.03.2021, 13:55

Restrictions. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis
said the authorities do not want to impose a national lockdown and called for
compliance with the restrictions in place and for the acceleration of the mass
vaccination. He said a lockdown in Bucharest is also not a solution, despite
growing infection rates, but called for additional measures, such as
restricting movement at the weekend and reducing opening hours in shopping
centres. The Bucharest public health directorate is considering imposing
further restrictions in the capital city, such as closing schools and
kindergartens, restricting the number of shoppers at one time, changing working
hours, banning private events or activities for children an enclosed spaces and
closing playground areas in parks. The authorities say they are not planning
imposing a lockdown in Bucharest for the time being despite the high infection
rate of over 6 cases per 1,000 inhabitants. Ilfov county, near Bucharest, hit
the mark of 7 cases in every 1,000 people tested, followed by Bucharest and
Timis, in the west, with 6, while eight other counties across Romania have
passed 3 cases per 1,000 people tested. On Wednesday, Romania saw more than
6,100 new Covid infections and 137 related fatalities, as well as a new record
number of ICU admissions.

Schools. The spring break for pupils will be
extended from 2nd April to 4th May to include both the
Catholic and Orthodox Easter and reduce movement in April, when Covid
infections are expected to see a new peak. Education minister Sorin Cîmpeanu
also explained that the high school entrance examination will be delayed for 5th-8th
July, while the written baccalaureate examinations will be held on the
same dates, between 28th June and 1st July. He said
schools will also remain open in places with more than 6 cases in every 1,000
people tested and that they would only be closed if the places in question go
into lockdown.

Vaccination. More than 1.8 million people have received at least one
dose of the Covid vaccine in Romania. The coordinator of the mass vaccination
campaign Valeriu Gheorghiţă said that from 1st April the vaccine
booking platform will also show the type of vaccine provided by each centre and
that GPs will also be able to give their patients the jab. Also from next
month, the number of persons receiving the vaccine in each inoculation hub is
expected to increase from 60 to 90 per day. Gheorghiţă said the booking
platform will also provide an estimated waiting time until vaccination for
those on the waiting lists. Over 775,000 people are now on these lists.
Timisoara, in the west, has opened the country’s first vaccination centre to
work round the clock.

Bill. Romanian deputies passed a bill on the
dismantling of a special department for the investigation of crimes in the
judiciary in the version received from the legal committee and which contains a
number of amendments, including one from the group of ethnic minorities stipulating
that magistrates can only be prosecuted with approval from the Superior Council
of Magistrates. The ruling coalition agreed to this new version to get the bill
voted. The Liberal leader Ludovic Organ said dismantling this department was
recommended by the European Commission and must be adopted amid discussions on
the lifting of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. The leader of the opposition
Social Democratic Party Marcel Ciolacu said his party would challenge the bill
in the Constitutional Court if voted by Parliament. The Senate is the
decision-making body for this particular bill.

Football. Romania are playing the Netherlands today in
their opening match at the European Under-21 Championship hosted by Hungary and
Slovenia. They are in a difficult group that also includes European
vice-champions Germany and Hungary. Romania, who featured for the second
consecutive time and an overall third at a European youth championship, will be
hosting the competition in 2023 together with Georgia. Tomorrow, Romania’s
senior side will be facing North Macedonia in their first match as part of the
2022 World Cup qualifiers. They will next play Germany on Sunday at home and
Armenia next Wednesday away. Iceland and Liechtenstein
are also in their group. The best-ranked side in each group qualify straight to
the World Cup, while the second best-placed sides will go into play-offs.

Olympic Games. Fencer Ana-Maria Popescu is the 60th Romanian
athlete to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games after finishing first in the
epee world ranking, said the Romanian Fencing Federation and the Romanian
Olympic and Sports Committee. These will be her fifth Games, having won a
silver medal in Beijing in 2008 and a gold in Rio in 2016. She also took part
in Athens in 2004 and London in 2012. Romanian athletes will be competing in 13
disciplines in Tokyo: swimming, athletics, rowing, football, gymnastics, 3×3
basketball, cycling, wrestling, shooting, canoeing, table tennis, boxing and
fencing. Due to take place last year, the Olympic Games were postponed because
of the coronavirus pandemic and will be held this summer between 23rd
July and 8th August. (CM)