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COVID-19 – 1053
\nnew infections with SARS CoV-2 have been reported in the last 24 hours in
\nRomania, the Group for Strategic Communication announced earlier today. The
\ntotal number of infections is close to 89 thousand. Also today, 60 new
\nfatalities were reported, taking the death toll to 3.681. 522 patients are in
\nintensive care. 6.590 Romanians have tested positive for COVID-19 abroad, and
\n126 have died. According to worldometers.info, 25.6 million cases have been
\nreported worldwide. The global death toll exceeds 850.000. The World Health
\nOrganization on Monday urged countries around the world to uphold their efforts
\nto counter the pandemic. WHO General Director, Tedros Ghebreyesus warned that
\nopening up without control of the virus would be a recipe for disaster. Also
\non Monday, the European Regional Office of the WHO and representatives of the
\n53 member states discussed ways of protecting children after the start of the
\nnew school year. Ensuring proper hand hygiene, physical distancing, the wearing
\nof face masks and staying at home in case of displaying symptoms are some of
\nthe measures considere. WHO officials pointed out the pandemic is responsible
\nfor the biggest disruption of education systems in history, affecting nearly
\n1.6 billion students in over 190 countries. <\/p>\n
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\n
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PARLIAMENT – Romanian MPs are today convening in a new session, the last of
\nthe current parliamentary term. The previous session was marked by the COVID-19
\npandemic, MPs meeting mostly online. High on the agenda is the budget
\nadjustment law, already passed by the Government, which will be voted in the
\ntwo chambers. Other projects in the fields of healthcare, education and social
\nprotection, aimed at helping the authorities deal with the coronavirus
\npandemic, are pending adoption. <\/p>\n
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\n
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LIFTING OF RESTRICTIONS – Restaurants, cinemas and theatres are reopening today
\nwith certain health safety provisions in place. Nightclubs and bars remain
\nclosed. Also starting today the number of people attending private events,
\ntraining classes and workshops is increased. <\/p>\n
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\n
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ELECTION
\n– The campaign for the local election due on September 27 continues in Romania.
\nThe authorities have announced the set of regulations candidates and their
\nteams must observe to prevent the coronavirus from spreading. According to the
\nInterior Ministry, face masks are compulsory, while all people attending
\nelection events and meetings will undergo triage and will have to sanitize
\ntheir hands. Access rules and individual health safety measures will be
\npublicly displayed. Participants will also have to observe the minimum 1-meter distance.
\nA maximum of 50 people are admitted for indoor activities for a maximum
\nduration of 2 hours. In the case of outdoor events, the participation is
\nlimited to a hundred people. Candidates are vying for one of the 41 positions
\nof presidents of county councils, 3.200 mayor seats, 1.300 county councilmen
\nand 40.000 local councilmen mandates. Originally slated for June, the local
\nelection was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and the mandates of
\nelected officials were extended by another six months. <\/p>\n
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\n
\n
\n
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UNEMPLOYMENT
\n– The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 5.4% in July, by 0.1%
\nhigher than in June, the National Statistics Institute announced today. Some
\n484.000 people aged 15-74 were unemployed in July 2020, more than the previous
\nmonth (474.000 people) as well as compared to the same month last year
\n(362.000). Unemployed adults aged 25-74 accounted for 4.3% of the total
\npopulation in July. Gender ratios point to a 4.9% rate for men and 3.6% for
\nwomen. <\/p>\n
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\n
\n
\n
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FESTIVAL
\n– As of Thursday Bucharest is hosting the 6th edition of the
\nBucharest International Dance Film Festival. For four days the city will play
\nhost to film screenings, workshops, short-reel contests and conferences
\nfeaturing prestigious guests. According to organizers, this year’s theme is
\nUtopia\/Dystopia, aimed as a reflection on the present and exploring the future.
\nChilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain’s latest feature, EMA, will be premiered in the
\nopening of the festival. Some 32 short-reels from 14 countries around the world
\nare competing in the three sections – international films, national films and
\nmusicals. Organizers have also prepared a series of events devoted to the film
\nand dance industry.<\/p>\n
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\n
\n
\n
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GEORGE
\nENESCU – The George Enescu prestigious international music contest
\ncontinues in Bucharest. Some 205 young musicians from 39 countries are enrolled
\nin the competition, 184 in the violin, cello and piano sections and 21 in the
\ncomposition sections. Total prizes stand at \u20ac100.000. The competition is
\nunfolding mostly online due to the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
TENNIS -
\nRomanian tennis player Sorana Cirstea and Mihaela Buzarnescu are today playing
\nin the first round at the US Open, the first Grand Slam tournament held after
\nthe hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Cirstea (77 WTA) is playing
\nChristina McHale of the United States (75 WTA), while Buzarnescu (122 WTA) will
\ntake on another American, Sloane Stephens (39 WTA). Another Romanian player,
\nIrina Begu (73 WTA) was knocked out in the first round after losing to
\nsixth-seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-2 on Monday. Our fourth
\nrepresentative, Patricia Tig (88 WTA) will play Kurumi Nara of Japan (142 WTA).
\nSimona Halep, world no. 2, will not take part in the tournament. No player will
\nrepresent Romania in the men’s singles. In the men’s doubles, Horia Tecau will
\nonce again team up with Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands, while in the
\nwomen’s doubles, Raluca Olaru will play together with Sara Sorribes Tormo of
\nSpain. The first round in the doubles competitions will be held on Wednesday. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
(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":[35374,30304,35712,35715,35714,29232,29595,29231],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-104551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-covid-19","tag-election-campaign","tag-george-enescu-contest","tag-international-dance-film-festival","tag-lifting-of-restrictions","tag-parliament-session","tag-unemployment-rate","tag-us-open"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n