July 5, 2020

Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 05.07.2020, 13:55

COVID-19 The
government in Bucharest is to endorse next week a bill on maintaining home
isolation and quarantine in the case of a contact with a Covid-infected person.
The statement has been made by Prime Minister Ludovic Orban after the
Constitutional Court ruled that patients cannot be kept in hospital, quarantine
and isolation against their will. The Prime Minister has criticised the Court’s
decision and recommended the citizens to comply with the health and safety
regulations in order to prevent contamination. According to the Constitutional
Court president, Valer Dorneanu, measures on restricting rights, such as
mandatory hospitalisation, must be imposed through legislation and not through
an order by the Health Minister. Nearly four months and a half since the first
Covid-infection was confirmed on its territory, Romania has reported roughly 29
thousand infections and a death toll of 1750. 122 Romanian nationals died
abroad due to complications produced by the novel coronavirus. A Romanian woman
on holiday in Crete has been confirmed infected and has self-isolated. The
Romanian Foreign Ministry recalls that Greece can alter without warning the
conditions on entering its territory depending of the number of Covid
infections registered.

JUSTICE Romania
today marks Justice Day, an event celebrated every year on the first Sunday in
July. In the message conveyed on this occasion, the president of the Higher
Council of Magistrates, Nicoleta Ţînţ, says that the process of justice must be
maintained at the highest standards in order to protect citizens from any
arbitrary rulings. For president Klaus Iohannis, the fight against corruption
remains a priority, as this scourge prevents economic and social development
bearing on the consolidation of democracy and for this reason, it must be
firmly repressed. In turn Prime Minister Orban has announced that the
government is working on a legislative initiative aimed at mending what he
describes as mistakes made by the previous governments concerning the justice
laws.

PANDEMIC 11.4
million people have been infected with the novel coronavirus all over the
world, while 533 thousand people have died so far. The United States remains
the most affected country with 2.93 million infections and 133 thousand
fatalities. The number of 40 thousand infections in 24 hours has again been
exceeded as three weeks ago the average daily number stood at 20 thousand.
Brazil comes close to 1.6 million cases and 65 thousand deaths whereas Mexico,
with over 30 thousand deaths has overcome France and Spain. Mexico has also confirmed
252 thousand infections, while Chile and Peru each have roughly 300 thousand.
South Africa has reported 10 thousand cases in the past 24 hours totaling 187
thousand, the largest number in Africa. India comes close to 650 thousand
infections whereas Saudi Arabia has exceeded 205 thousand. Iran is nearing 240
thousand and the third most affected country in the world seems to be Russia with
over 674 thousand infections and 10 thousand fatalities.

STATUE Protesters in the US city of Baltimore have
toppled a statue of Christopher Columbus, thus adding to the other monuments of
this kind destroyed by protesters after the death of George Floyd, an African
American killed in police custody. Christopher Columbus has been criticised for
having violently repressed native Americans. In his 4th of July address US
president Donald Trump has railed against the
cancel culture of those who toppled monuments during recent anti-racism
protests. Trump has condemned those who targeted statues, describing them as
angry mobs trying to deface quote: our most sacred memorials.

(translated by bill)