June 25, 2020
News from Romania and the world
Newsroom, 25.06.2020, 13:55
Coronavirus RO — Another 460 new cases of COVID-19 contamination have been reported in Romania in the past 24 hours, a record figure for the past 2 months, which takes the total tally to 25,286 contaminations. Latest figures published by the Strategic Communication Group show 1,565 deaths and 199 people in intensive care. 4,601 Romanian citizens from abroad have been confirmed with COVID-19, mostly in Italy, and Germany. The health minister Nelu Tataru has announced that the number of cases of contamination with the new coronavirus in Romania these days is higher than usual, but he hopes the number of contaminations will drop in the coming days. He has reiterated recommendations to the population to observe hygiene norms and social distancing rules, to wear face masks in enclosed areas and the means of transport and to avoid crowded places. Previously, he said that relaxation measures were needed but, if the community spread of the virus is intense and the people don’t respect the prevention rules, the authorities cannot take further relaxation measures.
Workers — 996 Romanian citizens employed by a meat processing plant in the German state of Rheda-Wiedenbruck have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday. They added that the quarantined people benefit from all the necessary conditions and a hot line has been set up for them with information available in Romanian. At a meeting of the crisis cell set up at state level, also attended by representatives of Romania’s General Consulate in Bonn, it was decided to increase the number of testing centers so that all the employees of the plant should be tested by July 3. According to official data provided by the local authorities, as many as 4 thousand Romanians are working in that meat-processing plant. The local authorities decided to quarantine the entire territory of the Gutersloh district by June 30.
IMF — The IMF has revised significantly downwards its estimates regarding the evolution of the world economy this year, the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic having been more intense than anticipated. The IMF latest report shows that international experts estimate that the global economy will contract by 5% this year and that the American economic growth rate is going to drop by 8%. As regards Romania, the IMF estimates a 5% contraction of its economy. China is the only big economic power which is estimated to report economic growth this year.
Weather — The weather in Romania is warm but unsettled. A code orange alert for torrential rainfalls is in place on Thursday for more than half of the country. Meteorologists have also issued a yellow code alert for unsettled weather valid until Friday morning. In another move, rivers from the east of Romania are under a code red alert for flooding, with orange and yellow code alerts for the rivers in the north, west, center and east of Romania. The PM Ludovic Orban said that committees were set up within the prefect’s offices meant to assess the damage caused by floods and the amount of damages to be paid to the people whose properties have been affected. The highs of the day range from 21 to 30 degrees C, with a 29-degree reading in Bucharest at noon.
Coronavirus world — The total number of coronavirus infections at global level exceeded 9.5 million, with 485 thousand deaths reported. The US and Brazil are the countries reporting the highest virus spread rate. In the US the virus is spreading at a faster pace in the southern states, mainly in Texas and Florida, which prompted the governors of several states in the northeast, severely affected by the pandemic, to impose two weeks of quarantine for all the people coming from 8 southern states. Experts with the University of Washington quoted by Reuters estimate that the situation is going to worsen in Latin America with the number of deaths at the end of October expected to go beyond 388 thousand. They estimate that two thirds of the deaths are going to be reported in Mexico and Brazil. (translation by Lacramioara Simion)
