March 22, 2021

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 22.03.2021, 13:55

Restrictions. Red zone restrictions
are coming into affect across Romania amid rising coronavirus cases. Bacău,
Galaţi and Brăila, in eastern Romania, are the latest cities to exceed 3 cases
in every 1,000 inhabitants for the last 14 days. Red zone restrictions mean
cinemas, theatres and performance venues are closed and private events such as
wedding and baptism receptions and parties are banned in both outdoor and enclosed
spaces. The western city of Timişoara and the neighouring villages, which have
been in lockdown for the last two weeks, have extended restrictions as local
hospitals are full. Bucharest has also seen a constant rise in its infection
rate in recent weeks to hit 5 cases per 1,000 inhabitants. At 6, the city may
go into lockdown.

Vaccine. A new batch of Pfizer-BioNTech
vaccines containing over 345,000 doses is delivered to Romania today, arriving
at the airports in Bucharest, Cluj Napoca and Timişoara. More than 1.7 million
people have been given at least one Covid jab in this country. More than 3,700
new coronavirus cases and 60 related fatalities were reported on Monday in
Romania. A record 1,339 Covid patients are in intensive care. Total infections
passed 900,000 that the death toll 22,000 in Romania since the start of the
outbreak.

Covid world. Herd immunity. Europe
can achieve herd immunity by July, said the EU commissioner for the internal
market Thierry Breton. In the meantime, the number of new infections is surging
and an increasing number of countries is considering extending restrictions.
Thousands of people took to the streets in Germany, The Netherlands, Austria,
Bulgaria, Switzerland, Serbia, Poland, the UK and Romania to protest against government
measures to rein in the pandemic. Germany is considering extending current
restrictions in April and France is struggling with record ICU admissions.
Greece will start distributing free do-it-yourself Covid tests and may
requisition private sector doctors to reduce pressure on the public healthcare
system. In Bulgaria, schools, big shops, restaurants and gyms are closed as of
today. In the US, a curfew is in place in Miami Beach from 10 pm in an attempt
to control the movement of tourists on the beach. In Asia, local lockdowns are
in place in India, and the Philippines is closing religious venues. The Tokyo
Olympic Games will be held without overseas spectators.

Baccalaureate. Mock baccalaureate
examinations began in Romania today with the written Romanian language and
literature test, followed by math or history tomorrow. As an exception, pupils
from regions in lockdown can take these tests if their school is not in a
village or town in lockdown. Mock exams will not be held in 78 out of Romania’s
almost 1,600 high schools. The official baccalaureate exam will be held in
summer.

EU. Romanian foreign minister Bogdan
Aurescu is today attending a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. On
the agenda are talks on Turkey and the EU southern neighbourhood, among
others. According to a statement from the foreign ministry in Bucharest,
minister Aurescu is expected to reiterate Romania’s constant calls for
maintaining dialogue with Turkey, which is a strategic partner of the Union and
of Romania, so as to ensure stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean
region. The Romanian foreign minister argues that the improved climate
resulting from Turkey’s positive signals recently must be used to consolidate
these developments. (CM)