November 28, 2021
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 28.11.2021, 14:30
BUCHAREST – The Romanian government met on Sunday in an extraordinary session in the context of international concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus strain from South Africa – Omicron – which is believed to be much more dangerous. The government modified the decision regarding the extension of the state of alert and analyzed the necessary measures for the increase of the capacity for faster identification of the new coronavirus variant in order to prevent its spread in Romania. The government has also established that a Tarom plane will be sent to Pretoria to bring to Romania the 36 Romanian citizens who remained stranded in South Africa, after the cancellation of flights to the EU, following the identification of the new variant of coronavirus in that country. The head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, said that there would be another 50 – 55 free seats in the aircraft, and Romania offers the possibility to other European countries to extract their citizens from South Africa. Also, the list of South African countries for which the new restrictions are valid was updated on Sunday, on the recommendation of the European Commission. Malawi has been included on this list, along with South Africa and six other states in the region in the red zone of countries with high epidemiological risk, so those who arrive in Romania from this area must be quarantined for 14 days. They may be released from quarantine on the 10th day if the result of their COVID-test is negative. In another development, the number of new Covid 19 cases in Romania continues to decrease. The authorities reported, on Sunday, 1,377 cases in the last 24 hours and 106 deaths, 19 of which were registered prior to the reference interval. Only four counties are still in the red scenario. The COVID-19 incidence rate calculated for a period of 14 days for Bucharest dropped to 2.04 cases per thousand inhabitants. In relation to the vaccination campaign, since its onset last December, about 7.35 million people have been fully vaccinated.
UfM — The Romanian Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, participates, as of Sunday, for two days, in Barcelona, in the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Regional Forum and in the EU – Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry – MAE, in his speech at the forum, Bogdan Aurescu will emphasize the strategic relevance of the European Neighborhood and will highlight the need to develop synergies between the two dimensions, Eastern and Southern, of the Neighborhood Policy. At the same time, FM Bogdan Aurescu will refer to the need for a close cooperation between the member states of the Union for the Mediterranean in areas such as climate change, digital transition and civil protection and will underline the importance of joint reconstruction of the link between security and development in the region. At the EU- Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting, Bogdan Aurescu will address, in his speech, the major regional challenges, such as illegal migration, the impact of climate change and terrorism. The Foreign Ministers of the Union for the Mediterranean states meet once a year at the Regional Forum to define priorities and areas of strategic cooperation. The EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting is a dialogue format attended by representatives of the European institutions, of EU states and of the Unions 10 partners in the Southern Neighborhood (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Palestine and Tunisia).
Fencing — The Romanian athlete Ana-Maria Popescu, silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics this summer, was designated the worlds best epee fencer, on Saturday, by the International Fencing Federation, according to the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committees Facebook page. Ana-Maria Popescu received the World Cup Trophy, on Saturday, in Lausanne, during the International Fencing Federation Congress. Ana-Maria Popescu (36 years old) was chosen the best epee fencer in the world for the 5th time, in the seasons 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2012-2013, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, which is a world record. Ana-Maria Popescu has also won 3 Olympic medals (one gold and two silver), 7 world medals (2-2-3) and 13 European (7-4-2), as well as numerous World Cups, being the fencer with the biggest number of titles from Romania. (LS)
