June 6, 2021 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 06.06.2021, 19:17
Covid-19RO. 58 thousand people were vaccinated against Covid-19 in Romania in the past 24 hours, of whom 15 thousand with the first jab, the National Vaccination Committee has announced. Data presented by authorities show that 4.4 million Romanians have received at least one dose. Numerous vaccination marathons and other events aimed at increasing the number of immunized people were held this weekend. Prime Minister Florin Cîţu called for measures to boost the vaccination campaign, stressing that the pandemic is not over. The priority now is vaccination in rural areas, using in particular mobile units. A new batch of approximately one million doses of Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is expected in Romania on Monday. The vaccines will be delivered by air and will reach the airports of Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca and Timisoara. As regards new cases of infection, 121 cases were reported on the last day, out of 18,000 tests, the Strategic Communication Group announced on Sunday afternoon. Also, 90 deaths were reported, of which only 8 in the last 24 hours. The death toll now stands at 30,815. 1,678 Covid-19 patients are currently hospitalized, of whom 320 in intensive care.
WHO. The global eradication of the new coronavirus is not currently a reasonable target, according to Dr. David Nabarro, the WHOs special envoy on Covid-19. He said that the virus isnt going away any time soon and humanity is going to have to learn how to co-exist with this virus”. Speaking on a British TV station on Sunday, Nabarro said there were reports on a new variant, recently discovered in Nepal, currently under examination by scientists. So far, at global level, more than 172 million cases of infection with the new coronavirus have been reported, as well as more than 3.7 million Covid-19 related deaths, according to WHO statistics.
NATO. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has warned Russia and Belarus not to threaten members of the North Atlantic Alliance. Following the hijacking of a passenger plane by Belarusian authorities last month, “we are of course prepared, in case of emergency, to protect and defend any ally against any threat from Minsk and Moscow,” Stoltenberg told the German publication Welt am Sonntag, quoted by international agencies. “We are vigilant and we are following very closely what is happening in Belarus,” the NATO secretary general added, noting that Belarus is becoming “increasingly dependent” on Russia. “We have learned from the past that Russia has massively violated the territorial integrity of states such as Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova,” he said. Stoltenberg also said that the situation in Belarus will be discussed at the NATO summit to be held in Brussels on June 14 and attended by US President Joe Biden. Lithuania, Latvia and Poland, all NATO members, have common borders with Belarus. Two weeks ago, agents of the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko forced a commercial flight operated by Ryanair between two European Union and NATO capitals – Athens and Vilnius – to make an emergency landing in Minsk. Belarusian anti-regime journalist Roman Protasevich and his Russian girlfriend Sofia Sapega, passengers on board that flight, were arrested. After the EU imposed new sanctions on Belarus, Russian President Vladimir Putin received Lukashenko and said Moscow would support Minsk with $ 500 million in loans.
Visit. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, meets, on Tuesday, in Bucharest, with his Israeli counterpart, Reuven Rivlin, who will pay a state visit to Romania. According to the Presidential Administration in Bucharest, the Israeli presidents state visit is part of the very good dynamics of high-level bilateral contacts in recent times, the most recent meeting between the two heads of state taking place on the occasion of the Romanian presidents participation in the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem, in January 2020, followed by telephone talks in March and June 2020 . The source adds that President Rivlins visit reflects the solidity of the bilateral relationship, as well as the fact that Israel remains a key strategic partner of Romania in the Middle East. The discussions will focus on ways to develop and deepen bilateral relations in all areas of common interest, the visit taking place in the context of celebrating, on June 11, 73 years of uninterrupted diplomatic relations between Romania and the State of Israel. Economic and health cooperation will also be addressed, including the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Holocaust education and other measures to combat anti-Semitism in Romania, as well as cultural and interpersonal exchanges between the two states. “Special attention will be paid to the situation in the Middle East region,” the presidential administration said in a statement
Football. Universitatea Olimpia Cluj won the Romanian Womens Football Cup on Sunday, defeating Heniu Prundu Bargaului 1-0 at the “Francis Neuman” football arena in Arad. The only goal of the match was a penalty shot scored by Mihaela Ciolacu, on 114th minutes. Universitatea Olimpia Cluj won the trophy for the seventh time in history, after previously winning the 10th consecutive Romanian Champion title. Cristina Botojel (Cluj) was designated the best player of the final, and the trophy was handed to her by the head coach of the national womens squad, Cristi Dulca.
Tennis. The Romanian – Argentinean pair Irina Begu/Nadia Podoroska has qualified for the quarter finals of the womens doubles at the Roland Garros tournament, the second Grand Slam of the year. They defeated the French pair Clara Burel/Chloe Paquet. In the mens doubles, the Romanian-German pair Horia Tecău / Kevin Krawietz had already qualified for the quarterfinals of the tournament, after defeating, on Saturday, the pair Jamie Murray (UK) / Bruno Soares (Brazil). The Romanian player Sorana Cirstea was defeated on Sunday by the Slovenian Tamara Zidansek, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, in the fourth round of the tournament. She was the only Romanian left in the singles. (MI)
