October 13, 2020

october 13, 2020 A roundup of domestic and international news

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA - The infection rate has exceeded 2 per thousand inhabitants in the capital city Bucharest and another two counties. The rate stands at 1.5 in another 12 counties, where the authorities have introduced new restrictions. Yesterday, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban announced he would recommend the cancelling of private events, or capping the maximum number of attendants to 20. Many events organizers do not comply with health safety measures, the Prime Minister said. Another 2,069 new infections were reported in Romania on Sunday, most of these signaled in Bucharest and in Iaşi and Prahova counties. 56 new fatalities were also recorded, while 628 patients are in intensive care.



COVID-19 IN THE WORLD - Governments across the globe are talking about a second wave of the pandemic and introducing harsher restrictions to stop the virus from spreading. Over 38 million infections have been reported since the start of the pandemic 10 months ago. 29 million of the people infected with the coronavirus have recovered. After being one of the most affected countries in the world in March this year, when it reported some 36,000 fatalities, Italy today has released an update of anti-COVID measures for the next month. Bars, restaurants and clubs in the Czech Republic will remain closed starting tomorrow until November 3, while most schools in this country will move to remote teaching. In Jerusalem, the Ministerial Committee for coronavirus is today convening to analyze the latest developments. Israel has entered the fourth consecutive week with restrictions in place at national level. Meanwhile, American researchers have reported the first confirmed case of coronavirus reinfection, which takes the global number to five. The other cases of reinfection were reported in Belgium, the Netherlands, Hong Kong and Ecuador. The international community needs to do more to deal with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IMF General Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Monday.



EUROPEAN COUNCIL - President Klaus Iohannis will be attending the European Council meeting held in Brussels on October 15 and 16. According to the Presidency, high on the agenda are hot topics such as the COVID-19 pandemic, EU-UK relations as well as combating climate change. Concerning the ongoing health crisis, talks will focus on the current status of the pandemic, measures to limit the spread of the virus, the economic and social impact of the pandemic, economic recovery and the development of COVID-19 vaccines.



ELECTION - Over 20,000 Romanians living abroad have registered for postal voting for the December 6 legislative election. Eligible voters residing abroad who wish to cast their votes in the election must register until October 22 on www.votstrainatate.ro. State Secretary with the Department for Romanians Worldwide, Ovidiu Burduşa, said there might be fewer voting polls this year set up abroad, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.



STATISTICS - The National Liberal Party in power grabbed the highest number of votes at national level in the recent local election, both in terms of the number of city halls, 34.58%, and in terms of the local and county councils. According to data published by the Central Election Bureau, ranking second is the Social-Democratic Party in opposition, with a score of 30.34% of the total number of city halls. The Social Democrats outrank the Liberals in terms of mayor and county councilmen seats. Ranking third at national level is the Save-Romania Union, with a little under 7%.



DRAFT LAW - Romanian deputies are today debating a draft law tabled by the Social Democratic Party on the payment of hazard bonus to teaching staff and auxiliary personnel, who are exposed to COVID infections. The hazard pay will stand at €400 and €300 per month, respectively. The beneficiaries will get the additional financial payment throughout any state of emergency or alert. The Chamber of Deputies is the decisional body in this case.



QUALITY OF AIR - Environment Minister Costel Alexe on Tuesday is holding a press conference jointly with Minister for European Funds, Marcel Boloş. The two will be signing a funding contract for the modernization and expansion of the National Network for Monitoring Quality of Air. The project seeks to build a national air pollution forecast system for large urban centers. Earlier this year, Costel Alexe announced another 60 new monitoring stations will be added to the network, an investment worth € 3.17 million, of which €2.17 million is covered by the Environment Fund Administration, while the rest will be funded by the EU. Right now the network totals 148 operational stations, 8 of which in the capital city Bucharest.

(Translated by V. Palcu)



www.rri.ro
Publicat: 2020-10-13 13:55:00
Vizualizari: 836
TiparesteTipareste