July 28, 2021

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 28.07.2021, 13:55

COVID-19 – The number of infections in Romania
remains low, although it has gone up in recent days. According to the head of
the vaccination campaign, medical doctor Valeriu Gheorghiţă, nearly 90% of the
people currently diagnosed with COVID-19 are not vaccinated, while over 91% of
related fatalities were people who hadn’t taken the anti-COVID jab. Right now,
some 30% of Romania’s total population got immunized. Starting August 2, young
people aged 12-17 can also receive the Moderna vaccine, Valeriu Gheorghiţă
said. The Romanian official went on to say that, by mid-September, Romania
might start administering the third dose of the vaccine for at-risk categories,
such as health workers, chronically ill and people over 65 years of age. So
far, 4.8 million people have completed the full vaccination scheme in Romania.
On Wednesday, 159 new COVID infections were reported and 1 related death. 47
people are in intensive care.

GOVERNMENT – The Government is today discussing plans to further ease
anti-COVID restrictions starting August 1. Additional measures will be taken in
the case of vaccinated people, those who present a negative PCR test, no older
than 72 hours, or a rapid test no older than 24 hours, or those who have had
the disease in the last six months. All of the aforementioned categories will
be allowed to attend cultural events held outdoors within the limit of 2,500
people, in those towns and villages where the incidence rate is below 3 per
thousand inhabitants, and within the limit of 75,000 people where the rate is
below 2 per thousand. The 2,500-limit can be exceeded in the case of vaccinated
people. For sports events, crowd attendance is limited to 50% of the venue’s
full capacity. Also today, the Government is expected to discuss a bill
modifying the adoption law, by cutting waiting times and making the application
process non-discriminatory.

HEAT WAVE – Meteorologists have issued a code orange alert against
extreme heat and thermal discomfort in seven counties in the south and the
capital Bucharest, in place until Saturday. Maximum temperatures are expected
to reach 40 degrees Centigrade locally. A code yellow alert against extreme
heat is in place until Saturday for all other regions, with highs ranging from
34 to 39 degrees. Passenger and freight trains will travel at reduced speeds
during the interval. Road traffic authorities have also warned some
restrictions may be introduced due to the extreme heat.

IMF – The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday maintained its
6% economic growth estimate for global economy this year and upgraded its
outlook on the United States and other developed economies, while downgrading
its forecast for a number of developing countries affected by the fallout of
COVID-19. In the case of Romania, in October last year the IMF estimated a
growth rate of 4.6% this year. The new outlook expects Romanian economic growth
to reach 6% this year. Additionally, the IMF has upgraded its forecast for
2022, from 3.9% as originally estimated, to 4.8%. According to the new report,
Romania’s economic growth rates for 2021 and 2022 will stand above the European
average.

INFRINGEMENT – The European Commission decided to start infringement
proceedings against 12 Member States, including Romania, for their failure to
transpose EU rules banning unfair trade practices in the agricultural and food
supply chain. The deadline for transposing the regulations into national law
was May 1, 2021. The Commission sent letters of formal notice to Austria,
Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Slovenia and Spain requesting them to adopt and notify the relevant
measures. The Member States have now two months to reply.

BEAR CENSUS – A bear census worth 11 million Euro
started on Wednesday in Romania. Minister for Investments and European
Projects, Cristian Ghinea, explained the project is funded under the Large
Infrastructure Operational Programme. There will be two lines of investment,
one focusing on the bear census itself, while the other will help implement state-of-the-art
technologies aimed at limiting the interaction of bears with humans. On the
other hand, the Senate convened in an extraordinary sitting today to discuss
the Government’s emergency decree regulating emergency intervention in case of
bear attacks. Adopted last week, the bill stipulates bears can be tranquilized
and relocated in low-risk cases, or even shot if they pose a risk to the
livelihood of people or their livestock.

OLYMPICS – Romania has won two medals in Wednesday’s
rowing finals at the Tokyo Olympics: Ancuţa
Bodnar and Simona Radiş won gold in the women’s double scull event, while
Romania’s four crew, made up of Mihăiţă Ţigănescu, Mugurel Semciuc, Ştefan
Berariu and Cosmin Pascari scooped silver. Adding to the two medals is
Ana-Maria Popescu’s silver medal scooped in the women’s epee event. Also on
Wednesday, three Romanian rowing crews secured qualification to the A Finals:
the women’s lightweight double scull crew, the men’s pair and the women’s eight
crew. In swimming, David Popovici has qualified to the A final of the 100-meter
freestyle event from fifth position with a time of 47.72. Earlier this month,
Popovici set a new world junior record at the European championships in Rome. (VP)