May 1, 2021

A roundup of domestic and international news.

Newsroom, 01.05.2021, 13:55

EASTER — Orthodox and Greek Catholic believers are today marking the Holy Saturday, the last day before Christ’s Resurrection. In Romania, the faithful are allowed to attend mass inside the church, not only outside, with the observance of the social distancing measures. Night restrictions will be lifted, so circulation is allowed for believers to attend the religious service. Every year, the Holy Fire ritual is held on the day preceding Easter. This is a unique Orthodox ritual during which the Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem comes out of Jesus Christ’s tomb with lit candles, which he shares to the crowds. This year, up to 2,500 believers will be allowed to attend the ritual, according to Jewish authorities. Just like every year, the Holy Fire from Jerusalem will also be brought to Romania.

HOLIDAY – The Easter and Labor Day holiday, which began officially on Friday, continues in Romania. The traffic police have reported busier traffic on the roads to the mountains and the seaside. The authorities have dispatched more police to ensure road safety. Around 26,000 police, gendarmerie, border police and fire service staff are on stand-by. Security forces are also present in large numbers in tourist resorts in the mountains and at the seaside and around churches holding Easter services. More than 30,000 visitors are expected to spend the Labor Day and Easter holiday on the Black Sea shores. Some 100 hotels opened for this occasion, many of which are already 70% full, which is the maximum level allowed by the authorities. Partying on the beach is not permitted, and wearing face masks is mandatory.

CORONAVIRUS — More than 1,600 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Romania in the last 24 hours, out of 32,300 tests. This brings the incidence rate to little over 5%. Also, 138 new fatalities were recorded, while 1,284 people are in intensive care. In Bucharest, the incidence rate dropped below 3 cases per 1,000 people over the course of 14 days. The public health directorate said no other locality or county in Romania is now in the red zone. The capital Bucharest and 18 counties are in the yellow zone with all other counties being in the green zone. In Bucharest, shops are open until 9 p.m. and people are allowed to leave their homes until 10 p.m. In the meantime, the Covid vaccination campaign that began in December last year continues. An increasing number of towns and cities around the country are hosting events and activities meant to facilitate access to vaccination. Four drive-through vaccination sites opened in Bucharest, Deva (in the west of the country), Cluj Napoca (in the north-west) and Arad (in the west). More than 3.3 million Romanians have been vaccinated so far.

MISSIONS – Some 40 Romanian policemen will spend Easter in international missions, away from their loved ones, the Romanian Police General Inspectorate announced. They are taking part in peace keeping missions under the United Nations and the European Union coordination, in Congo, Ukraine, Niger, Georgia, Cyprus, the Central African Republic, the West Bank and South Sudan.

WITHDRAWAL — The Romanian Army, which on May 1st started the withdrawal of its military from Afghanistan, participated in the last 19 years, in missions in one of the most difficult and complex theatre of operations in the world, not just for Romania but also for NATO, having proved its professionalism, Defense Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Saturday. He pointed out that the missions of the Romanian military in Afghanistan have added value to the training of the entire army. Romania has today started pulling out its 615 military and 80 tons of logistics from Afghanistan, at the same time with other NATO allies. As many as 27 Romanian military died and 200 were injured in anti-terror missions in Afghanistan, launched after the attacks of September 11, 2001 in the US, when Bucharest was not yet a NATO member.

TENNIS – World no. 3 Simona Halep of Romania on Friday defeated Spains Sara Sorribes Tormo in straight sets to reach the second round of the Madrid WTA tennis tournament, worth 2.5 million euros in prize money. Halep will play on Sunday against Chinese Saisai Zheng, world no. 57. Halep won the Madrid tournament twice, in 2016 and 2017 and lost the final in 2014 and 2019. (EE)