November 12, 2020 UPDATE

A look at some of the main stories in Romania today.

Newsroom, 12.11.2020, 20:00

Coronavirus
Romania. New negative records were reported in Romania on Thursday, as the
number of new daily cases hit 10,142 and that of people receiving intensive care
treatment 1,152. 121 new deaths were also reported. The highest infection rate
was recorded in Sibiu county, 7.4, followed by Cluj and Timis. In half of the
country, the infection rate has passed 3 per 1,000 inhabitants in the last 14
days. Several cities have asked to be placed in lockdown and are waiting for a
decision from the central authorities. President Klaus Iohannis called on
prefects to be firm in the application of the restrictions required to contain
the spread of the pandemic. He explained that the measures taken so far were
carefully considered, are the right ones and have yielded results, but they are
not enough. Iohannis had a videoconference with the prefects to discuss the
management of the pandemic, with prime minister Ludovic Orban and other
government members also taking part.

Coronavirus
world. The global number of coronavirus infections stands at 52.5 million,
while 1.3 million people have died to the pandemic. The United States remains
the worst hit country in the world, although the situation in Europe has taken
a turn for the worse. German chancellor Angela Merkel spoke of a second wave of
the pandemic, far worse than the first, while Italy is considering the
introduction of a wider lockdown, as the situation in its hospitals has become critical.
Several other European countries have pinned their hopes on mass immunisation. On
Wednesday, the European Commission signed a contract with the American
pharmaceutical company Pfizer for the purchase of 300 million anti-Covid
vaccine shots. Health officials insist, however, that the first vaccines will
be administered no sooner than the first quarter of 2021. The Commission has
also advanced a number of proposals to create a European Health Union.

Education. Despite the measures to
reduce the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on education, moving to remote
learning risks worsening the already high inequalities existing in Romania, the
European Commission warned in a report published on Thursday. The report says
that the socio-economic context significantly affects the performance of pupils
and teachers, limiting the role education can play in efforts to guarantee
equal chances. It is necessary to improve the digital skills of teachers and
pupils and students and ensure a better digital endowment of schools, the
Commission has underlined, adding that the digital infrastructure of schools is
under-developed, especially in the rural areas. Romania has one of the lowest
budgets for education in the European Union, the Commission report also notes.

Protest. Romanian prime minister
Ludovic Orban on Thursday met the representatives of the Solidaritatea Sanitara
federation to receive the demands of healthcare workers. He told them the
government is committed to finding solutions and thanked the medical staff for
their efforts in the management of the health crisis. The federation on Thursday
staged a new protest in Bucharest demanding measures to protect the rights of
healthcare workers so as to lead to a significant drop in the number of cases
and deaths caused by Covid-19. They also request survivor pensions for the
children of those who died to work-related hazards, a number of bonuses and a
salary increase.

LGBTIQ. The European Commission on Thursday presented
the first ever EU strategy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, non-binary,
intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) equality, as announced by Commission president Ursula
von der Leyen in her 2020 State of the Union Address. The strategy addresses
the inequalities and challenges affecting LGBTIQ people and proposes to include hate crime on the list of EU
crimes, including homophonic hate speech and hate crime, the Commission said in
a statement. Everyone of us should feel free to be who they are – without fear
and persecution. This is what Europe is about and this is what we stand for,
said the Commission vice-president for values and transparency. (CM)