July 3, 2020
A roundup of news from Romania and the world
Newsroom, 03.07.2020, 13:55
Pandemic — Another 420 cases of infection with the new coronavirus have been reported in Romania, taking the total number of contaminations to 28,166 — the Strategic Communication Group announced on Friday. Over the past 24 hours 21 people have died, taking the death toll to 1,708. 20,433 people have recovered from the disease. The Romanian health minister Nelu Tătaru has said that at present there is no risk of reinstating the state of emergency in the context of the coronavirus pandemic but the state of alert might be extended, if necessary. He provided data according to which, over the past 3 weeks, a constant increase in the number of contaminations was reported, and has pointed out that restrictions may be further lifted if the evolution of the pandemic allows it.
Coronavirus world — As many as 11 million cases of COVID-19 contamination have been reported around the world since the start of the pandemic with around 6 million people having recovered. More than 520 thousand people have died. The US, Brazil and Great Britain are the countries hardest hit by the pandemic. The US has reported more than 2.7 million cases. News agencies write that the number of cases in the IS is higher than ever, since the onset of the pandemic and more and more people are being hospitalized in Houston (Texas) and Phoenix (Arizona).
France — The French government headed by PM Edourd Philippe has stepped down. An Elysee Palace communiqué writes that the PM and his team will continue to deal with the country’s current affairs until the designation of a new executive. On Thursday President Emmanuel Macron had stated that he intended to open a new path with a new team. According to him, economic recovery, the continuation of the reform of the social protection system and of the environment system, the defense of the European sovereignty and so on, will be on the new road map of the future government.
Immigrants — The Romanian border police have identified 23 citizens from Syria, Palestine and Egypt who were trying to illegally cross the border from Romania into Hungary. During the inquiry they stated they intended to reach Germany, Austria and Sweden. The driver of the van transporting the immigrants is being investigated for immigrant trafficking and is going to be taken into temporary custody for 30 days.
Cannes — The Romanian short film ‘Contraindications’ by Lucia Chicoş has been singled out for the Cinefondation section of the Cannes International Film Festival. The director is a student with the I.L. Caragiale National University of Theater and Film in Bucharest and the film has a duration of 19 minutes. The other countries participating in the Cinefondation section this year are Israel, Great Britain, Argentina, Hungary, India, Switzerland, the US, South Korea, France, Poland, Portugal, Germany and Slovenia.
Greece — The Romanian authorities are making diplomatic efforts to deal with the situation of the long queues of Romanian tourists waiting to enter the Greek territory. The Romanian Foreign Ministry officials have called on the Greek authorities to identify solutions to streamline traffic flow through the only opened border-crossing point between Bulgaria and Greece, namely Kulata — Promachonas. The Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu talked on the phone with his Greek counterpart and suggested the opening of other border checkpoints too, given that the tourist season has begun. The Greek side has announced they are looking into the situation and are trying to work out solutions to solve the problem. As of this month, Greece has introduced random tests for foreign tourists who reach the Greek territory by air, road or sea. After testing, tourists will wait for the result in self-isolation at their tourist destination. (tr. L. Simion)
