December 18, 2020

A news roundup

Newsroom, 18.12.2020, 13:55

Covid-19 Ro — 5,340 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 contamination have been registered in Romania in the last 24 hours, after 27,482 tests have been made at national level – the Strategic Communication Group informed today. In the same period, 188 infected people died, taking the total death toll to 14,157. 1,270 patients are in intensive care. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, 582, 786 cases of people infected with the new coronavirus have been confirmed in Romania, of whom over 484 thousand have recovered. The number of Romanians abroad confirmed with the new coronavirus increased to 7,036, 2 more than the latest figure reported, with the number of deaths increasing at 128. The health minister Nelu Tataru announced that the executive approved the norms regarding the authorization, organization and functioning of anti-COVID-19 vaccination centers.

Negotiations — Nnegotiations continue today in Romania between PNL, USR-PLUS Alliance and UDMR for the formation of a parliamentary majority and of a center-right governing coalition, following the December 6 legislative elections. A sensitive issue remains the appointment to the posts of PM and Speakers of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies. The Liberal leader Ludovic Orban said the three parties would made efforts to finalize negotiations, since President Iohannis already summoned the future Parliament meeting for December 21. The Liberals have come up with two options for the prime minister post – the current finance minister, Florin Cîţu and the former PM, the Liberal president Ludovic Orban. The USR- PLUS Alliance has rejected the idea of ​​Ludovic Orban re-entering the race for the PM position. UDMR calls for a balanced distribution of the key positions in the state. On the other hand, the Social Democrats, that ranked 1st following the December 6 elections, criticize all the proposals of the parties that want to make up the center-right coalition. PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu reiterated that the correct solution, in the context of the pandemic, would be a national union government, headed by Professor Alexandru Rafila.

Minorities – President Klaus Iohannis has today conveyed a message on the occasion of the National Minorities Day in Romania, in which he emphasizes that it is essential that all responsible political forces should understand the need to eliminate hate speech, chauvinistic and extremist agendas. ‘On this day, we honor the essential role which all national minorities play in the society, history and future projects of Romania’ President Iohannis went on to say. Klaus Iohannis has also emphasized that Romania, in full agreement with the values ​​of the great European family to which it belongs, recognizes the importance of unity in diversity, of spiritual richness resulting from historical coexistence, mutual respect and the current commitment to protecting the rights of national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. In Romania there are almost 20 ethnic minorities.

Commemoration — 31 years after the December 1989 Revolution, Timisoara (in western Romania) continues to commemorate its heroes, in the context of the new coronavirus pandemic. Today, the Revolution Memorial Association has organized a pilgrimage to 14 monuments in Timisoara, which were erected in the hottest places of December 1989 uprising, and where people laid wreaths The manifestations will continue, during the evening, with the lighting of candles on the steps of the Metropolitan Cathedral, in memory of the young people who were shot by the repression forces while they were protesting against the communist regime. Thursday was a day of mourning in the town on the Bega River, where, on December 17, 1989, dictator Nicolae Ceausescu ordered the use of lethal ammunition against people who contested the communist regime in the street. The protests in Timisoara, where almost 100 people died and about 350 were injured, were the spark that led, a few days later, to the fall of the dictator, following the bloodiest Revolution in Southeastern Europe.

MAE – All people entering Greece, as of December 18, are obliged to self-isolate at their domicile a period of three days, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports. The measure, valid until January 7, 2021, adds to the other measures in force such as the obligation to present a negative result of a PCR test made 72 hours at the most before entering Greece, filling in the location form and, in case of crossing the border by car, taking a quick test. Exempted from these rules are drivers undertaking international merchandise transport who are in transit or take over merchandise from Greece and immediately leave the territory of that state. In another development, starting on December 19, people traveling to Austria, including people from Romania, will be quarantined for 10 days immediately after entering Austrian territory, the Foreign Ministry also reports. The quarantine measure may be suspended following the presentation of the negative COVID-19 test made not earlier than the 5th day since entering Austria, at the expense of the person concerned. MAE officials point out that the restriction will apply for an indefinite period of time. (tr. L. Simion)