January 13, 2017 UPDATE
Romanian doctors have confirmed the presence of the influenza A virus subtype H3N2 in over 170 patients.
Newsroom, 13.01.2017, 12:15
INFLUENZA — The Health Ministry in Bucharest has announced that six people, including a 1-year old, died because of the same influenza virus that made over 50 victims in France. Romanian doctors have confirmed the presence of the A virus subtype H3N2 in over 170 patients, most of them in the capital Bucharest. In the beginning of 2017 a big number of cases of flu, pneumonia and respiratory problems have been reported. There are over 88 thousand such cases reported so far, one third more than at the end of 2016. On the other hand, two patients suffering from measles have died in just one week, which brings the total number of victims to 13 this year alone. The most affected category is children aged 1 to 4.
FISCAL AUTHORITY– The Romanian Fiscal Authority (ANAF) has a new president as of Friday, in the person of Bogdan Nicolae Stan, who was previously head of the Control and Anti-Fraud Body of the National Health Insurance House. Bogdan Nicolae Stan thus replaces, at PM Sorin Grindeanu’s order, Dragos Doros, who has resigned following the Government’s announced plan to look into the activity of ANAF’s board. ANAF is accused of the poor collection of taxes and duties in 2016.
ENERGY EXPORTS – The government in Bucharest has approved a decision providing, among others, for the possibility of banning exports of electricity in the event of a crisis between the 16th of January and the 15th of February. The decision was taken after energy minister Toma Petcu presented an analysis of the functioning of the National Energy System after six days of harsh weather, with record high consumptions of natural gas and electricity. The Energy Ministry in Bucharest said it also took into account the weather forecasts and the situation of fuel reserves.
SUSPENSION – The director of the Romanian Intelligence Service Eduard Hellvig has ordered the creation of a special committee after information appeared in the public realm about his first deputy, general Florian Coldea. Until the information is verified, Coldea is in effect suspended from office, while his responsibilities are taken over by Hellvig himself. The decision comes after the former MP Sebastian Ghita, who is investigated in several corruption cases and who has vanished without a trace, accused Coldea of illegalities. According to the spokeswoman for president Klaus Iohannis, the latter had a discussion with Coldea before Hellvigs decision.
ROMANIA-NATO – General Michael Flynn, who has been nominated by US president elect Donald Trump for the job of national security adviser, has hailed Romanias commitment to and role within NATO. In a telephone conversation with Romanias ambassador to Washington DC, George Maior, Flynn said NATO remains a fundamental alliance for the US in which all members must contribute to the common good. Ambassador Maior gave assurances that Romania would allocate 2% of its GDP to defence and consolidate the necessary capabilities.
TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Monica Niculescu, no. 40 in the WTA ranking, has reached the final of the Hobart tournament in Australia, worth 225,000 dollars in prize money. Niculescu qualified following the withdrawal of Ukraines Lesia Turenko and will face the Belgian player Elise Mertens in the final. In the doubles, the Romanian-Ukrainian pair Raluca Olaru and Olga Savchuk have qualified for the final after defeating the Luxembourg-Latvian pair Mandy Minella and Anastasija Sevastova in straight sets. Olaru and Savchuk will next face the Canadian-Chinese pair Gabriela Dabrowski and Zhaoxuan Yang. Last week, they also played the final in Shenzhen, China, but lost.
(Translated by Elena Enache)
