COVID – Starting next week
\nauthorities will revert to daily reports of COVID-19 infection and fatalities
\nafter official data indicate a resurge in the daily number of infections. The
\nHealth Ministry announced it would present a weekly update on Monday, while
\nstarting Thursday updates will be released daily. According to the latest
\nreport, the number of infections has doubled. Health Minister Alexandru Rafila
\nexpects a new wave of infections that might peak at the end of summer. Of the
\n7,700 new cases, 1,300 people had already had the disease in the last three
\nmonths. The new strain of the virus doesn’t seem to cause serious forms of the
\ndisease, although vaccination is still recommended in the case of vulnerable
\ncategories. The authorities expect a new adapted vaccine starting this autumn.
\nMeanwhile, hospitals were recommended to prepare for a new wave of the pandemic
\nand activate their action plans.<\/p>\n
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\n
\n
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POPULATION
\nAGEING – Population ageing is gaining ground in Romania, according to the
\nlatest data published by the National Statistics Institute. On January 1, 2021,
\nof the approximately 19.2 million inhabitants, a little less than 16% were
\nbelow 14 years of age, while over 19% were over 65. People aged 15-64 accounted
\nfor nearly 65% of the total population, a slight decrease compared to early
\n2020. The figures also show that over half of the country’s population lived in
\nurban settlements. <\/p>\n
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\n
\n
\n
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REFUGEES – The total number of
\nUkrainian citizens who have entered Romania since the start of the Russian
\ninvasion in Ukraine has exceeded 1 and a half million. Data published on Friday
\nreveals a significant increase in arrivals compared to the previous day.
\nAccording to the Romanian Border Police, 22,500 Ukrainian citizens have entered
\nRomania in the last 24 hours. Border authorities say they are working at full
\ncapacity. <\/p>\n
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\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
PROTEST – Thousands of people
\nprotested in Washington against the elimination of the Constitutional right to
\nabortion. The rally was held two weeks after the Supreme Court overturned the
\nRoe v. Wade precedent that had guaranteed the national right to abortion for
\nnearly 50 years. Some 10,000 people from across the USA took part the protest.
\nOn Friday, United States president Joe Biden signed an executive order
\ndirecting health authorities to expand access to medical abortion pills
\nprescribed to end pregnancies. <\/p>\n
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\n
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SWIMMING
\n– Romania has so far won seven medals, four gold and three silver, at the
\nEuropean Junior Swimming Championships in Otopeni, near Bucharest. On Saturday,
\nVlad Stancu won silver in the 800m freestyle event. Romania ranks third in the
\nmedal standings, after Hungary (10 medals) and Poland (13 medals). On Sunday,
\nDavid Popovici will take part in the 100m freestyle final, while Vlad Stancu
\nwill take part in the 400m freestyle final. Romania also won gold in the men’s
\n4x100m freestyle relay (David Popovici, Vlad Stancu, \u0218tefan Cozma and Patrick
\nSebastian Dinu), gold in the 200m and 50m freestyle events (David Popovici),
\nsilver in the 1,500m freestyle event (Vlad \u0218tefan Stancu), silver in the mix
\n4x100m freestyle event (David Popovici, Patrick Sebastian Dinu, Bianca Costea
\nand Rebecca Aimee Diaconescu) and silver in the women’s 50m freestyle event
\n(Bianca Costea). Attending the Championships are 500 athletes from 42
\ncountries. 26 swimmers are representing Romania, 14 in the men’s competition
\nand 12 in the women’s competition. <\/p>\n
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\n
\n
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<\/p>\n
ROWING – The World Rowing Championships
\nare coming to a close on Sunday in Lucerne, Switzerland. So far, the Romanian
\nwomen’s pair made up of Ioana Vr\u00eenceanu and Denisa T\u00eelvescu won silver, while the
\nmen’s four-scull crew made up of Mih\u0103i\u0163\u0103 \u0162ig\u0103nescu, Mugurel Semciuc, \u015etefan
\nBerariu and Florin Lehaci have won bronze. (VP)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":105208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[36876,35374,36869,36875,36583,29157],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-106023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-abortion-rights-rally","tag-covid-19","tag-european-junior-swimming-championships","tag-population-ageing","tag-ukrainian-refugees","tag-world-rowing-championships"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n