April 30, 2020

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 30.04.2020, 13:55

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – The Suceava County Hospital in the northeast,
a hotbed of COVID-19, has a new civilian management starting today. For nearly
a month this medical unit had been managed by the Army. Health Minister Nelu
Tataru explained the decision comes as the situation in Suceava is now under
control. Suceava continues to be the county with the highest number of deaths
and infections. So far 12.240 people are infected with COVID-19 in Romania. The
number of deaths is close to 700, while over 4.000 patients have recovered.
Over 2,200 Romanians living abroad have tested positive for coronavirus, mostly
in Italy. Of these, nearly 80 have died. Bucharest authorities are calling on Romanian
citizens to strictly observe restrictions aimed at combating the COVID-19
pandemic, including on May 1, the International Labor Day, when people usually
celebrate outdoors, organizing parties and barbecues. The authorities are also
considering various possible scenarios to be applied after May 15: extending
the state of emergency or declaring a state of alert.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – Europe is seriously affected by the COVID-19
pandemic, reporting over 1 million confirmed cases in western and southern
countries alone. Four European countries have exceeded or are close to the
25,000 deaths mark: Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain and France. The biggest
increase in the death toll is reported in the UK, which as of yesterday is the
second-most affected country in Europe. After the first wave of the pandemic
British authorities were late in imposing social distancing measures. Now,
London wants to launch a random testing program at national level before
lifting restrictions. Some 100,000 people will be tested across the UK to help
the authorities assess the extent of the pandemic. The situation is now stable
in countries that originally reported large numbers of infected, such as Italy
and Spain. These countries are reporting significantly lower numbers of deaths
and infections compared to the pandemic’s peak point.

MOLDOVA – The Government is today discussing in its weekly session
about donating protection gear and other medical equipment to the Republic of
Moldova to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Also as of today, a team of
Romanian doctors and nurses, set up on a volunteer basis, are in the Moldovan
capital-city Chisinau, where they will help medical staff involved in the fight
against the coronavirus. We recall that over April 7-24, a team made up of 11
doctors and 4 nurses were in Lombardy, Italy, where they contributed to the
treatment of patients infected with coronavirus. The Romanian Foreign Ministry
has approved the issuance of diplomatic passports to the personnel of Romanian
medical missions to Italy and the Republic of Moldova, as a sign of great
respect and appreciation for their efforts in fighting the COVID-19
pandemic.

UNEMPLOYMENT – The unemployment rate in Romania went up in March,
2020 as compared to the previous month, from 3.9% to 4.6%, the National
Statistics Institute reports. The number of unemployed aged between 15 and 74
is estimated to stand at 410,000 people in March, as compared to 352,000 in
February and to 331,000 in March, 2019. 70% of the total number of unemployed
are aged between 25-74. Some 5.1% of men are unemployed, compared to 3.8% of
women.

UNESCO – Some 1.3 billion learners from 186 countries around the
world are affected by school or university closures, a recent UNESCO survey
shows. In China and Japan, between 30 and 40% of schools have reopened, while
in some Nordic countries such as Denmark or Norway, classes have resumed only
in primary schools. In early May learners will return to school in Germany,
France, Bulgaria and Greece. Italy and Spain have announced schools will remain
closed until September, the same as in Romania. 8th and 12th
graders in our country will be able to sit their final exams in June. UNESCO
and UNICEF officials together with representatives of the World Food Programme
and the World Bank have drawn up a framework for reopening schools, where they
highlight the need to take additional hygiene and prevention measures and to
adapt curricula.

(Translated by V. Palcu)