November 8, 2020 UPDATE

A news update from RRI

Newsroom, 08.11.2020, 19:37

Coronavirus Ro –New measures to prevent and limit the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus will be enforced in Romania as of Monday for a period of 30 days. Face masks thus become compulsory in all localities irrespective of the number of contaminations. Shops will close at 9 p.m. and enclosed marketplaces will be shut down. Travel during the night will be banned between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. except for those people who go to work, have medical emergencies, or have to take care of children and elderly persons and provide a self declaration in this sense. All public institutions and private and state-owned companies will have to introduce the teleworking and work-from-home systems where possible. All schools will go online, but nurseries and after-school facilities remain open. Parties or meetings for various holidays and anniversaries will be banned. Restrictions occur in the context in which Romania has reported, as of February, more than 300 thousand cases of contamination with the new coronavirus, and the number of cases has increased alarmingly in the past weeks. The total death toll is nearing 7,900 and more than 1 thousand Covid-19 patients are in ICUs. On Sunday evening, hundreds of people protested in front of the government building in Bucharest against the new restrictions.

Coronavirus world — The number of new coronavirus cases globally exceeds 50 million, with a death toll of more than 1.2 million. Many countries worldwide are introducing new restrictions in a bid to limit the pandemic second wave. In Europe, France, the UK, Ireland, Greece and some regions of Italy are in isolation. Moreover, Italy has adopted a new aid package to support the economy worth 2.9 billion Euros. Italy has reported almost 40 thousand new cases of coronavirus contamination in 24 hours. The French authorities reported on Saturday over 40 thousand COVID-19-associated deaths since the onset of the pandemic. The UK closed its border for those coming from Denmark. Slovakia ends on Sunday the mass testing for coronavirus. In another move, in the US, the country with the biggest number of deaths, 20 of the 50 states have announced new records of contaminations, almost 130 thousand new cases in 24 hours.

Visit — The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu will pay an official visit to the Hague on Monday, at the invitation of his Dutch counterpart Stef Blok. The visit is part of the effort to intensify bilateral relations, especially in the context of the anniversary of 140 years of diplomatic relations in 2020. According to a Foreign Ministry communiqué, the two officials will review the current bilateral relations and will discuss their consolidation in domains of mutual interest. Minister Aurescu will talk about the management of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, about the Multiannual 2021-2027 Financial Framework and the recovery plan, the future EU-UK partnership agreement, Romania’s accession to the Schengen Space as well as climate change. Also the Romanian FM will underline the importance of deepening the bilateral dialogue on security issues within NATO and the EU, as well as the effort to promote a solid transatlantic relation.

US election – The Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, on Saturday congratulated Joe Biden on his victory in the US presidential election: “I look forward to further consolidating our solid and dynamic Strategic Partnership in all its dimensions” President Iohannis wrote in a social network post. Many world leaders, EU and NATO officials have congratulated the Democrat candidate Joe Biden for his victory against the incumbent Republican President Donald Trump in the November 3 election, international news agencies report. The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg congratulated Joe Biden and expressed hope to consolidate the relations between the US and Europe. The head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, also congratulated Joe Biden insisting on the EU’s wish to rebuild a solid partnership with the US. Partial results and estimates made by the US media show Joe Biden as the winner of the US presidential election. The announcement of his victory was received with enthusiasm in the US where thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate. Joe Biden thanked those who voted for him and called on them to stop treating political opponents as enemies. He confessed he entered the presidential race to heal the soul of America.

Handball — Romania’s handball team CSM Bucharest defeated Slovenia’s team RK Krim Ljubljana 25-23 on Saturday evening in Group A of the Women’s Handball Champions League. After this win, CSM Bucharest returned on top position in the group. CSM Bucharest will play the next match against Krim Ljubljana on November 14, on home ground.

Tennis — The Romanian tennis players Irina Bara 116 WTA), Laura Paar (198 WTA) and Jaqueline Cristian (169 WTA) on Sunday failed to qualify to the main table of the Linz WTA tournament. Bara, 2nd seed in the qualifiers, was defeated in 3 set by Croat Jana Fett (235 WTA). Laura Paar lost to the top seed Oceane Dodin of France (114 WTA) 6-2, 7-5. Jaqueline Cristian 8th seeded abandoned in the first set the match against Harmony Tan of France (239 WTA) at the score 4-1 for the French player. (tr. L. Simion)