September 19, 2021 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news.

Newsroom, 19.09.2021, 20:00

MOBILITY — Romania’s capital Bucharest is one of the 2,900 localities in over 50 countries taking part in the European Mobility Week, with the initiative “The Open Door Day at the Dudesti Depot”. The public was invited to visit the Dudesti Depot on Sunday, to see, among other things, old trams from different development stages of the Bucharest public transport system. European Mobility Week is the European Commission’s flagship awareness-raising campaign on sustainable urban mobility. It promotes behavioral change in favor of active mobility, public transport, and other clean, intelligent transport solutions. The main event takes place from 16 to 22 September each year, culminating in the popular Car-Free Day. Local authorities are encouraged to use the main week to try out innovative planning measures, promote new infrastructure and technologies, measure air quality, and get feedback from the public. With more towns and cities joining every year, and with its huge media appeal, the campaign is widely recognized as a driving force towards sustainable urban mobility in Europe and beyond.

CORONAVIRUS — The Bucharest authorities on Sunday announced 3,817 new cases of COVID-19 infection, from over 35,000 tests. 58 related fatalities were also reported and 849 patients treated in intensive care. The National Public Health Institute has warned that the fourth wave of the pandemic, currently under way, will be much more serious than the previous one, given the quick spread of the virus. In villages, mobile medical teams are prepared to vaccinate all people who request immunization. Over 100 localities in the country exceeded the infection threshold of 3 per thousand inhabitants, which entails new restrictions. As of Monday, the green certificate, attesting vaccination, negative testing or recovery from COVID-19 is compulsory in Romania upon entering restaurants, gyms, or attending public and private events in areas where the infection rate is over 3 per thousand. This is the same digital certificate required this summer for travel within the EU.

NEW MEDIA — Around 30,000 people took part on Saturday in the iMapp Bucharest 2021, the largest contemporary art event in Romania, organisers announced on Sunday. The works of teams from the US, Germany, Ukraine, Japan and Hungary were presented on the world’s biggest screening area, namely, the façade of the Parliament Palace in Bucharest, of 23,000 sqm. The theme of this year’s edition was “The Show Must Go On” and celebrated through works that blended light, technology and music, the way in which people have been returning to normal life. A jury made up by outstanding representatives of the international audio-visual world nominated the winner of iMapp Bucharest — the German Jonas Denzel, a director and visual artist, creator of visual effects, video mapping and documentary films.

UN – Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu will attend as of Monday, until September 24, as part of a delegation headed by President Klaus Iohannis, the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, on the sidelines of which he will participate in a number of multilateral meetings. Special attention will be paid to bilateral meetings with counterparts from countries in the Caucasus and Central, South and East Asia, the Middle East, Africa and countries in the Pacific. Also, Bogdan Aurescu will meet with representatives of the Jewish organizations in the US.

MEDALS – Romania won 12 medals at the 46th edition of the Balkan Championships held in Albena, Bulgaria. 5 gold, 2 silver and 5 bronze medals is Romania’s tally at this year’s edition. Romania won gold medals in women’s singles, men’s singles, women’s doubles, mixed doubles and women’s team competitions. The men’s team won the silver medals.

TENNIS — Romania’s men’s tennis team defeated Portugal 3-1 in the first round of the World Group I of the Davis Cup, after Marius Copil defeated Joao Sousa 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 on Sunday in Cluj Napoca, north-western Romania. Romania’s team, that does not have any player in ATP top 200 rankings in men’s singles, will now fight to qualify to the competition’s final tournament. Marius Copil brought Romania 3 points, with two victories in the singles and one in the doubles. On Saturday, in the first singles game, Joao Sousa beat Filip Cristian Jianu in two sets, 6-3, 7-5 while in the second one Marius Copil defeated Gastao Elias, 6-4, 6-3. On Sunday, in men’s doubles, the Romanian pair Marius Copil / Horia Tecau defeated the Portuguese Joao Sousa/ Gastao Elias 6-4 6-3. (EE)