November 7, 2020 UPDATE

US elections. Democratic candidate for US president Joe Biden is projected to win the battleground state of Pennsylvania, which would secure him the victory in the race for the White House. Votes are still being counted around the country four days after election day. His pick for vice-president Kamala Harris would thus become the first woman elected vice-president.

Romania elections. The election campaign for the parliamentary elections of 6th December is under way in Romania. Just like in the case of the local elections, held at the end of September, the authorities have restricted the number of people who can take part in campaign events and have imposed strict hygiene rules under which these can take place. Over 39,000 Romanian citizens living abroad have registered to vote by mail in these upcoming elections. Most such applications came from the Romanian communities in the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and France. Voting stations abroad will be open over the course of two days, 5th and 6th December.

Coronavirus Romania. The Romanian healthcare system can cope with 10,000 new coronavirus cases a day depending on how many of them are serious cases, said the health minister Nelu Tătaru. He gave assurances that he would continue to increase the number of intensive care beds for Covid patients and emphasised that the idea of doctors screening patients in serious condition is out of the question. Romania hit 10,000 new daily cases on Friday and 9937 new cases were reported on Saturday. 1,048 people are receiving intensive care treatment. The death toll reached 7,933, with 130 new deaths in the last 24 hours. Some of the patients in serious condition may be transferred for treatment abroad if hospitals in Romania become overcrowded, said president Klaus Iohannis. He said that in two weeks' time he hoped the country would see the result of the new restrictions coming into force on Monday. Wearing face masks will become mandatory in all open and enclosed public spaces around the country, regardless of the infection rate. All schools move to online teaching, but crèches and after-school facilities remain open. Night-time travel will be banned between 11 pm and 5 am unless for justified reasons. Also beginning on Monday, shops cannot stay open later than 9 pm and enclosed markets will close.

Coronavirus world. Global coronavirus cases are nearing 50 million, while the death toll is 1.2 million. The pandemic is growing, with the biggest number of new cases being reported in the US, with over 127,000 new daily infections. Europe remains, however, the worst hit region in the world, with 12 million cases since the start of the outbreak and almost 300,000 deaths, according to France Presse news agency. Most states in Europea have introduced new restrictions. Lithuania is in lockdown for three weeks beginning on Saturday, and new restrictions came into force in Poland, which has seen half a million cases. Cinemas, theatres and other cultural venues are closed. In shopping centres, only essential shops remain open. Greece also went into lockdown for three weeks on Saturday, with people banned from leaving their homes except to go to work and for justified reasons. Slovakia is organising its second round of national mass-testing this weekend.

Defence. The Romanian defence ministry is considering purchasing a new batch of military planes, said defence minister Nicolae Ciucă on Saturday after talks with his Portuguese counterpart Joăo Titterington Gomes Cravinho in Bucharest. Ciucă said the aircraft must be compatible with those that are already in the possession of the Romanian army. He added that the modernisation of the first squadron of F-16 aircraft purchased from Portugal is being finalised. The Portuguese minister said the final plane of a total of 17 would be supplied next year. This year, 4 F-16 Fighting Falcon planes out of a total of 5 have come into the possession of the Romanian Air Force, which has 12 other similar planes that are already carrying out air policing missions under NATO command. (CM)