June 20, 2021

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 20.06.2021, 14:00

COVID-19
IN ROMANIA – The number of COVID-19 infections continues to drop in Romania. 53
new infections were reported on Sunday. 161 patients are still in intensive
care. Meanwhile, medical units are gradually returning to their normal activity.
Some hospital managers say their institutions are now better prepared to cope
with a possible fourth wave of the pandemic. Health Minister Ioana Mihăilă said the Indian strain of the
coronavirus can become dominant in Romania as well, which is why the percentage
of vaccinated people must increase. According to Romania’s representative at
the WHO, Alexandru Rafila, unless the vaccination campaign picks up, only 7
million people are expected to get vaccinated in Romania by the end of the
year, below the official target of the authorities. In the last 24 hours, some
25,000 people have taken the anti-COVID jab. Since the start of the campaign
last year, over 8.7 million doses of vaccine have been administered, 4.3
million people having completed the full COVID vaccination scheme.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – Russia has reported new
record-high numbers of COVID-19 infection. For this reason, the authorities
have introduced new restrictive measures. On Saturday, the number of COVID
cases was close to 18,000, the highest figure since January 31 this year, of
which over 9,000 in Moscow, an all-time negative high. Nearly 90% of COVID
cases in Moscow are represented by the Indian strain of the coronavirus.
According to the authorities, the main reasons behind the soaring infection
rate include the slow progress of the vaccination campaign, people failing to
observe restrictions and the rise in the infectiousness of the virus. In the
Russian capital city, restrictions this week were extended until June 29, with
other measures due to be imposed starting Monday also in Saint Petersburg, a
city hosting EURO 2020 matches. On the other hand, over half a million
Brazilians have died to the COVID-19 virus, while the local authorities are
making great efforts to cope with the third wave of the pandemic. Thousands of
people protested in several cities against president Jair Bolsonaro’s
government, calling for accelerating the vaccination campaign. At present, only
11% of the country’s population have completed the COVID-19 vaccination scheme.
Worldwide, nearly 179 million people got infected and 3.8 million people died
since the start of the pandemic, the latest worldometers.info update reveals.

PENTECOST -Orthodox and Eastern-Catholic
Christians around the world, including Romania, on Sunday celebrated the
descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles of Jesus Christ, a celebration
also known as the Pentecost. The feast day also marks the foundation of the
Christian Church 50 days after the Lord’s Resurrection. According to the New
Testament, the 12 apostles were gathered in a house, when they received the
Holy Spirit, which enabled them to preach the gospel in languages they never before
spoke. According to the Bible, Saint Peter’s sermon made 3,000 souls take the
Christian baptism, making up the first Christian community. Orthodox believers
receive sanctified walnut leaves, symbolizing the flames of the Holy Spirit
resting on the heads of the Apostles. The Traffic Police has deployed
additional units on the main roads to the seacoast or mountain resorts, where
most Romanians are spending their Pentecost mini-holiday.

EURO 2020 – EURO 2020 continues on Sunday
with matches in Group A, Italy versus Wales and Switzerland versus Turkey. On
Saturday, in Group F, Hungary held France to a 1-all draw, while in Munich,
Germany defeated Portugal 4-2. Also on Saturday, in Group E, Spain and Poland
were tied 1-all. Patrik Schick of the Czech Republic and Cristiano Ronaldo of
Portugal are the competition’s top scorers so far, each with three goals. For
the first time in its history, Bucharest is playing host to European
Championship matches, 3 in the group phase and 1 in the round of 16. Romania is
represented by two delegations of referees.

WRESTLING – Romanian wrestler Iosif
Alexandru Ionescu won bronze in the 65-kg category in the Greek-Roman event at
the Under-21 European Wrestling Championships held on Saturday in Samokov,
Bulgaria. Ionescu defeated Zakhar Yanevich of Belarus in the bronze final. Romania
has so far won 4 medals at the Wrestling Championships. Apart from Ionescu’s
bronze, Georgiana Carla Lircă won gold in the 57-kg category, Alexandra
Voiculescu scooped silver in the 40-kg category, while Daniel Marian Sandu
grabbed silver in the 60-kg freestyle event.

WEATHER – Code orange and yellow alerts against heavy rain and
thunderstorms are in place across Romania until Monday. During the interval,
meteorologists expect heavy rain, strong wind and severe thunderstorms,
particularly in the east and the south. The weather will remain unstable
halfway through next week, particularly in mountainous areas. Hydrologists have
also issued code orange and yellow alerts against flash floods for the major
rivers, in place until Monday. The heavy rainfall in recent days has killed
people and affected thousands of homes. In Bucharest a few hundred home were
flooded and trees were uprooted. Road traffic has also been disrupted on
several national roads. (VP)