May 25, 2020 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 25.05.2020, 19:47

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA
– The death toll for COVID-19 in Romania has exceeded 1,200, the Group for
Strategic Communication reports. The total number of confirmed cases is 18.200,
of whom over 11.600 people have recovered. On Monday the Bucharest City Hall
kicked off a free testing program addressing 10,500 people from Bucharest, to
be conducted on Romania’s largest stadium, National Arena, while observing all
international regulations in the field. According to Bucharest Mayor Gabriela
Firea, as many as 8 thousand people from Bucharest have signed up on an online platform
set up by the City Hall. State Secretary with the Health Ministry, Horatiu Moldovan
told a private TV station that the Government is planning to test 30,000 people
across the country, in an action that will take place once the pandemic has
peaked.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD
– The total number of confirmed infections with COVID-19 has exceeded 5.5
million at global level, with the death toll standing at some 347.000. Over 2.3
million people have recovered. Brazil is now the second most affected country
in the world, with 350.000 infected. Europe continues to report the highest
number of deaths, with 126.000 victims in only four countries – Great Britain,
Italy, Spain and France. Meanwhile European countries are gradually relaxing
restrictions imposed to limit the spread of the virus, considering the number
of new cases remains low compared to the peak period. Restaurants in Germany
and Greece reopened on Monday, while beaches officially opened in Italy. The cities
of Madrid and Barcelona, currently the most affected in Spain, on Monday
entered the first of the four-stage plan for lifting lockdown restrictions. In
the first phase churches, museums and outlets will admit only a third of
entries. Additionally groups of people are limited to a maximum number of 10.
These measures have already been adopted by other regions in Spain, which on Monday
entered the second phase of the plan. Meanwhile Japan has lifted the state of
emergency.

MOTION – The
Bucharest Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday debated a simple motion against the
Education Minister Monica Anisie, tabled by the MPs with the leftist Social
Democratic Party and Pro Romania Party, both in opposition. The signatories are
asking for the minister’s resignation, who they say is lacking vision and a
strategy for the education system. The opposition also claims the education
system is plunged in chaos, unlike any other time in the last 30 years.
Minister Anisie admitted the Romanian education system is facing a great many
challenges, although pointing out she couldn’t solve in seven months what
others failed to do during the course of several years. The vote will be held
on Wednesday. Another minister that has to pass the test of a simple motion is Interior
Minister Marcel Vela. He is expected to appear before the Senate on Tuesday to
present the measures taken during the crisis triggered by the coronavirus
pandemic. The motion against Vela was initiated by the Social Democrats, who
say that the military decrees adopted included contradictory decisions and
measures that were later cancelled.

HEALTH – 15
specialists with the Romanian defense Ministry on Monday left for the United
States to help authorities in the state of Alabama fight the coronavirus
pandemic. The five doctors, five nurses and five military specialized in
defense against chemical, biologic, radiologic and nuclear weapons will grant
expert support to their American colleagues in the medical units in Alabama and
also report on the methods the US is using to combat the pandemic. Romania and
the US are NATO allies and bound by a Strategic Partnership. We recall that over
April 17-24, a Romanian team made up of 11 doctors and 6 nurses travelled to
Italy to help the medical staff there fight the coronavirus. Also, another team
travelled to the neighboring Republic of Moldova, with a similar mission.

AGRICULTURE -
Some 1.6 million hectares of farmland are affected by drought, while some 941
thousand have already been inspected, Agriculture Minister Adrian Oros said on
Monday. The authorities will compensate all farmers who have been affected,
although the data used for these compensations has to be accurate, Minister
Oros also said. Previously, the Romanian Agriculture Minister said this is the
most severe drought in the last 60 years in Romania, adding that the irrigation
system cannot function at full capacity, as many rehabilitation works are
subpar or cannot be correlated with private infrastructure works implemented by
farmers.

(Translated by V. Palcu & E. Enache)