May 19, 2020 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 19.05.2020, 20:00
Covid-19 Ro. Another 11 people have died of Covid-19 in Romania, raising the death-toll to 1,137, the Strategic Communication Group announced on Tuesday night. The number of infections has exceeded 17,100, of which 10,100 have been cured. As regards the Romanians living abroad, some 3 thousand have been infected, mostly in Italy, Spain and Germany. 103 have died. The virus is still among us and a fresh outbreak could follow, president Klaus Iohannis warned on Tuesday. He voiced his intention to declare a state of emergency again, if need be. He vehemently criticized those who stopped observing the rules on Friday, when the state of emergency was replaced by a state of alert, and also the politicians who tried to instigate people against the measures imposed by authorities.
Recovery Plan. The European recovery plan must be applied right away, without any delays caused by bureaucracy and useless criteria, should focus on investment and the needs of the lesser developed countries, said on Tuesday the Romanian Finance Minister Florin Citu. According to a communiqué issued by the ministry, at the Ecofin meeting the Romanian official stressed that Romania believes that the future recovery fund should be nondiscriminatory, focus on the big priorities and the support program for combating unemployment should be rapidly implemented. The statements were made after the French president Emmanuel Macron and the German chancellor Angela Merkel proposed an economic recovery plan worth 500 billion Euro for the EU countries hit by the pandemic. Angela Merkel has pointed out that the countries hardest hit by the crisis should have priority in benefiting from this fund. In turn, Emmanuel Macron has stated that the countries that will receive aid will not have to reimburse it.
Conference. The Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu attended on Tuesday a regional video-conference on managing the social and economic effects of Covid-19 pandemic. On the occasion, he voiced Bucharests support for the adoption, at European level, of the documents representing the frameworks of negotiation with Albania and the Republic of North Macedonia, following the decision made in March to start such negotiations. The Romanian foreign minister stressed the importance of maintaining the enlargement policy in the region. According to a communiqué issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Aurescu highlighted the financial aid mobilized at EU level for the Western Balkans, describing it as a firm and concrete sign of European solidarity and commitment to the region.
Pandemic. According to a first report drawn up by an independent committee, which analyzed the way in which the WHO acted in the case of the coronavirus pandemic, the alert system for outbreaks used by the World Health Organization should be revised given that some countries have reacted more slowly, DPA reports. Almost 4.9 million people have been contaminated with the new virus around the world. Some 1.9 million have recovered and over 320,000 have died. The US is the hardest hit country in the world with 90,000 deaths and almost 1.5 million cases of infection. Brazil comes 3rd after the US and Russia in the ranking of countries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In Europe, the highest number of cases has been reported in the UK, which is followed by Italy, France and Spain. Meanwhile, the EU countries continue to gradually lift restrictions.
Tourism. More than 100 hotels on the Romanian Black Sea Coast are preparing to welcome guests as of next month, according to employers associations in the field. The announcement made by the Government that open air restaurants are to be reopened on June 1st has mobilized a quarter of the accommodation capacity in the Black Sea resorts. Owners estimate a level of occupancy of 25 to 30%, which means around 10 thousand tourists. The first tourists already traveled to Mamaia, Vama Veche and the Denube Delta this past weekend, for fishing and other sporting activities.
UEFA. The Romanian Football Federation has filed at the UEFA the last warranty letter required to demonstrate its availability to host EURO 2020 matches. In this way, Romania has officially reconfirmed its committment to organizing these events. Inititally scheduleld to take place between the 12th of June and the 12th of July this year, the European Football Champtionship has been postponed because of the pandemic, and it will therefore take place next year. Bucharest is supposed to host four matches. In order to be part of the final tournament, Romania has to win the play-off due this autumn. In the first leg, the Romanian team will play the semifinal in Island, and if they win, they will play for qualification against either Bulgaria or Hungary, also away from home. If it manages to reach the final tournament, the Romanian squad will play two matches in Bucharest. (M.Ignatescu)
