August 5, 2020

Romanian health minister says coronavirus infections may drop if people respect rules./ Authorities look at solutions for reopening of schools after summer break.

Newsroom, 05.08.2020, 13:55

Coronavirus. Coronavirus infections hit
56,550 in Romania, with more than 1,300 daily cases reported today. Over 28,500
people have recovered and 2,521 have died. 464 people are in intensive care.
The authorities have again called on the population to respect the prevention
measures in place. The health minister Nelu Tataru says the number of cases may
drop in the coming period if basic rules are respected, such as wearing a face
mask. In the meantime, countries like Cyprus, Finland and Lithuania have
imposed new restrictions on arrivals from Romania over the surge in the number
of cases in this country. Italy, the UK, Ireland, Norway, Estonia and Latvia have
ordered travellers from Romania to self-isolate for 14 days. Globally,
infections topped 18.7 million, while death passes 740,000.

Schools. President Klaus Iohannis is
today meeting prime minister Ludovic Orban and other cabinet members to discuss
solutions for the start of the new school year in September. The president says
school will not begin in normal conditions because the pandemic will not go
away until then. In his opinion it would be complicated for classes to be held
exclusively online, so the authorities are considering a mixed system. The
president also says the measures that will be taken are meant to protect
children’s and teachers’ health while providing quality education. An NGO
called Save the Children recently warned that almost half of Romanian children
had limited access to online education during lockdown, as they did not have
internet connection, tablets or computers. The NGO, which has launched a
campaign entitled I Want to Go to School, has called on the central and local
authorities to take concrete measures to address and prevent a similar
situation in the new school year.

Explosion. The Romanian embassy in
Beirut has not received any information to date about there being any Romanian
citizens among the victims of the two big explosions that took place on Tuesday
in the Lebanese capital. The foreign minister in Bucharest says the building
housing the Romanian embassy suffered minor damages and that the staff is safe.
President Klaus Iohannis posted a Twitter message expressing solidarity with
the Lebanese people after a terrible explosion killed more than 100 people,
injured thousands and caused immense material damage. Messages of condolences
and offers of help have been pouring in from all over the world. High-ranking
officials from the Security Service in Lebanon said the blast was caused by the
detonation of some 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored for six years at a
port warehouse in unsafe conditions. The blast has destroyed the port area
almost completely, and the entire city is in chaos. Prime minister Hassan Diab
has promised that those responsible for the tragedy would be held accountable.

Tennis. The
Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no. 2 in the world, who last played in an
official match on the 22nd February, will compete at the US Open
scheduled between the 31st of August and the 13th of
September in New York. Earlier, Halep withdrew from Palermo, which is under way
this week, the first tournament to be held since the start of the coronavirus
outbreak. The only Romanian players still in competition in Palermo are in
action today in the women’s doubles. Raluca Olaru and her doubles partner Dayana
Yastremska of Ukraine, who are seeded second, are facing the Dutch-Slovenian pair Arantxa Rus and Tamara Zidansek
in the opening round. Another Romanian player, Laura Paar, together with
Germany’s Julia Wachaczyk are playing against the first seed pair Georgina
Garcia Perez and Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain. (CM)