June 26, 2020 UPDATE
An update on domestic and international news
Newsroom, 26.06.2020, 19:26
Coronavirus RO — Latest figures published by the Strategic Communication Group show more than 25,600 cases of coronavirus infection. More than 400 cases have been reported over the past 24 hours, for the 2nd consecutive day. Most of the cases were reported in Bucharest and the Suceva county, in the north east. Almost 18,200 contaminated people have recovered. In this context, the Liberal PM Ludovic Orban has asked the authorities to mobilize and undertake more checks. He has pointed out that in the context of the danger posed by the coronavirus being questioned by some politicians, the current public information campaign must convince citizens to observe protection rules.
Floods — Hundreds of people have been evacuated and hundred of households, plots of land and roads in the southwest of Romania have been flooded by Jiu River which outburst its banks. A flooding alert is also in place for Prut River, in the north east, but the authorities say the high flood is not a danger for the population.
National Flag Day – Romanians celebrated the National Flag Day on Friday. Military and religious ceremonies as well as cultural events were held on this occasion. According to the Romanian Constitution, the flag of Romania has three colors, blue, yellow and red, arranged vertically from the flagpole. On June 26, 1848, the revolutionary government in Bucharest established, through its first decree, the Romanian flag.
Coronavirus world — The coronavirus pandemic has killed at least 491 thousand people globally since its emergence in December in China, according to worldometers.com. The total number of coronavirus infections at global level exceeded 9.7 million, with at least 5.2 million people having recovered. The US and Brazil are the countries reporting the highest virus spread rate. In the US the number of infections stands at 2.5 million while over 126 thousand people have died. The number of infections has also increased in Europe. Italy has reported two new hotbeds in the centre and south of the country. New cases have also been reported in Bulgaria and the Republic of Moldova.
Repatriations — The Romanian Foreign Ministry has announced that 187 Romanian citizens and 4 British citizens were repatriated from the UK on Thursday. The move is part of the Romanian authorities’ efforts to facilitate the return of its citizens from abroad, who could not return home earlier because of the restrictions imposed on air transport. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, among the citizens repatriated are people who could not extend their stay abroad. The repatriation was made with an aircraft owned by a private company.
Drugs — The head of the Bulgarian department for combating drug trafficking within the institution fighting organized crime Ţvetan Pankov has been arrested on suspicion of bribe taking and collaboration with the traffickers, news agencies report. Another two employees of the same department have been equally arrested, on suspicion of protecting several drug trafficking groups that were operating both on the Bulgarian territory and abroad. Bulgaria is a key country on the east European route of drug traffickers linking Turkey to Western Europe, and in the past years it has become a transit country for the transportation of cocaine. (translation and update by L. Simion)
