COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – The Senate in Bucharest next week will
\ndebate and vote on a controversial draft law submitted by the Liberal
\nGovernment. On Thursday, the Chamber of Deputies passed the law in a heavily
\nmodified form compared to the original. While the power claims it needs
\nleverage to counteract the effects of the pandemic, the opposition says the law
\ninfringes on citizens’ rights and liberties. Interim Senate Speaker
\nSocial-Democrat Robert Cazanciuc said the bill will pass only if it answers
\nRomanians’ needs. He recalled that opinions have been asked from the Justice
\nMinistry and the Superior Council of Magistracy, and the Government also needs
\nto provide arguments that observe European practice in the field of compulsory
\nhospitalization and the mandatory posting of medical staff. We recall the bill
\non quarantine and isolation was passed by the Government and submitted to
\nParliament after the Constitutional Court ruled that home isolation, quarantine
\nand hospitalization cannot be imposed by Ministry decree, as the case has been
\nso far. Constitutional Court judges believe refstrictions should be based on a
\nclear legal framework. Hundreds of people protested on Sunday against the
\nauthorities’ handling of the health crisis, as well as against the bill on
\nisolation and quarantine. Some 32.500 cases have been reported in Romania,
\n23.400 people have recovered. The death toll stands at 1.884. 5.104 Romanians
\nhave tested positive for SARS CoV2 abroad and 122 have died. <\/p>\n
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RESTRICTIONS – Starting
\nWednesday next week Hungary will impose new border crossing restrictions to
\nprevent the spread of the virus, in the wake of a resurge in the number of
\ninfections in several countries. Arrivals from yellow areas, including
\nRomania, will be submitted to medical checks at the border and enter quarantine
\nfor 14 days, while anyone coming from red countries will be denied access.
\nEntry into Hungary will be allowed only to citizens presenting two negative
\ntests for COVID-19, carried out in the last five days. The tests need to be 48
\nhours apart, and the medical certificates must be presented in Hungarian or
\nEnglish. Greek authorities have suspended until Tuesday the electronic platform
\nfor traveller registration, ahead of changing border crossing regulations for
\nland entries. As of Wednesday morning, Romanian tourists will have to provide
\nproof of a negative test against COVID-19, no older than 72 hours. The
\ndocumentation must be in English and contain the traveller’s identification
\ndata. The Romanian Foreign Ministry recalls this test does not exclude the
\nobligation of completing the online form or being subject to random testing at
\nthe border. Prime Minister Ludovic Orban has called on the 120 centers doing
\ncorona testing in the country to take priority in testing tourists with planned
\nholidays in Greece. On social media many Romanians have already announced their
\nreadiness to give up their holidays, mostly due to the expenses associated with
\nvoluntary testing. Other EU countries have announced restrictions for Romanian
\ncitizens. People with holiday plans in Austria need documents proving they
\ntested negative for SARS CoV2, which must be no older than 4 days at the time
\nof entry. The document needs to be translated into German and English and be
\naccompanied by proof of accommodation in this country. Anyone failing to
\nprovide the said documentation will be placed in isolation for 14 days. As of
\nMonday, Lithuania will deny access to Romanians, with the exception of people
\non transit to Romania. <\/p>\n
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MIGRANTS – Two Serbian
\nnationals, who helped 13 Syrians illegally cross into Romania, were picked up
\non Saturday night by the Romanian border police and are now being investigated
\nfor migrant trafficking. The Syrian citizens, nine men and four women, are aged
\n17-30. The Serbian drivers were planning on taking them to Western Europe in
\nexchange for \u20ac900. The Romanian Border Police has advised citizens against
\ntransporting unknown people in border areas and to notify the authorities
\nwhenever they are presented with such requests. <\/p>\n
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TENNIS – Tennis
\nplayer Simona Halep, world no. 2 has confirmed her participation in the WTA
\ntournament in Palermo, Italy, the first in the WTA circuit after the long
\nhiatus caused by the coronacrisis. In a video posted on social media, she said
\nshe would take part in the competition in Sicily, which will be played on clay
\ncourt over August 3-9. Halep played her last match in February, in the final of
\nthe tournament in Dubai, which she won against Elena Rybakina of Khazakstan.
\nOliveiro Palma, the director of the tournament in Palermo, said Halep’s
\nparticipation is exceptional news, it had been decades since Palermo last
\nhosted a former No.1.<\/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":[35641,30892,35374,29613,28900,35646],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-104451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-bill-on-isolation-and-quarantine","tag-border-police","tag-covid-19","tag-migrants","tag-simona-halep","tag-travel-restrictions-for-romanians"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n