COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – The Suceava County Hospital in the northeast,
\na hotbed of COVID-19, has a new civilian management starting today. For nearly
\na month this medical unit had been managed by the Army. Health Minister Nelu
\nTataru explained the decision comes as the situation in Suceava is now under
\ncontrol. Suceava continues to be the county with the highest number of deaths
\nand infections. So far 12.240 people are infected with COVID-19 in Romania. The
\nnumber of deaths is close to 700, while over 4.000 patients have recovered.
\nOver 2,200 Romanians living abroad have tested positive for coronavirus, mostly
\nin Italy. Of these, nearly 80 have died. Bucharest authorities are calling on Romanian
\ncitizens to strictly observe restrictions aimed at combating the COVID-19
\npandemic, including on May 1, the International Labor Day, when people usually
\ncelebrate outdoors, organizing parties and barbecues. The authorities are also
\nconsidering various possible scenarios to be applied after May 15: extending
\nthe state of emergency or declaring a state of alert.<\/p>\n
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COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – Europe is seriously affected by the COVID-19
\npandemic, reporting over 1 million confirmed cases in western and southern
\ncountries alone. Four European countries have exceeded or are close to the
\n25,000 deaths mark: Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain and France. The biggest
\nincrease in the death toll is reported in the UK, which as of yesterday is the
\nsecond-most affected country in Europe. After the first wave of the pandemic
\nBritish authorities were late in imposing social distancing measures. Now,
\nLondon wants to launch a random testing program at national level before
\nlifting restrictions. Some 100,000 people will be tested across the UK to help
\nthe authorities assess the extent of the pandemic. The situation is now stable
\nin countries that originally reported large numbers of infected, such as Italy
\nand Spain. These countries are reporting significantly lower numbers of deaths
\nand infections compared to the pandemic’s peak point. <\/p>\n
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MOLDOVA – The Government is today discussing in its weekly session
\nabout donating protection gear and other medical equipment to the Republic of
\nMoldova to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Also as of today, a team of
\nRomanian doctors and nurses, set up on a volunteer basis, are in the Moldovan
\ncapital-city Chisinau, where they will help medical staff involved in the fight
\nagainst the coronavirus. We recall that over April 7-24, a team made up of 11
\ndoctors and 4 nurses were in Lombardy, Italy, where they contributed to the
\ntreatment of patients infected with coronavirus. The Romanian Foreign Ministry
\nhas approved the issuance of diplomatic passports to the personnel of Romanian
\nmedical missions to Italy and the Republic of Moldova, as a sign of great
\nrespect and appreciation for their efforts in fighting the COVID-19
\npandemic.<\/p>\n
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UNEMPLOYMENT – The unemployment rate in Romania went up in March,
\n2020 as compared to the previous month, from 3.9% to 4.6%, the National
\nStatistics Institute reports. The number of unemployed aged between 15 and 74
\nis estimated to stand at 410,000 people in March, as compared to 352,000 in
\nFebruary and to 331,000 in March, 2019. 70% of the total number of unemployed
\nare aged between 25-74. Some 5.1% of men are unemployed, compared to 3.8% of
\nwomen. <\/p>\n
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UNESCO – Some 1.3 billion learners from 186 countries around the
\nworld are affected by school or university closures, a recent UNESCO survey
\nshows. In China and Japan, between 30 and 40% of schools have reopened, while
\nin some Nordic countries such as Denmark or Norway, classes have resumed only
\nin primary schools. In early May learners will return to school in Germany,
\nFrance, Bulgaria and Greece. Italy and Spain have announced schools will remain
\nclosed until September, the same as in Romania. 8th and 12th
\ngraders in our country will be able to sit their final exams in June. UNESCO
\nand UNICEF officials together with representatives of the World Food Programme
\nand the World Bank have drawn up a framework for reopening schools, where they
\nhighlight the need to take additional hygiene and prevention measures and to
\nadapt curricula. <\/p>\n
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(Translated by V. Palcu)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":75903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[35500,35497,35374,35499,35498,35502,35501],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-104303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-assistance-to-the-republic-of-moldova","tag-bucharest-authorities","tag-covid-19","tag-easing-restrictions","tag-suceava-county-hospital","tag-unemployment-rate-in-romania","tag-unesco-survey"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n