May 4, 2021

may 4, 2021 A roundup of local and international news.

Pandemic Romania. 994 new coronavirus cases and 94 related deaths were recorded in Romania on Tuesday. Hospital cases continue to drop as some 8,000 Covid patients are currently receiving hospital treatment, of whom around 1,200 in intensive care. The national incidence rate dropped to almost 1.5 cases per 1,000 people in a fortnight. The capital Bucharest still has the highest rate, at a little under 2.5. Army hospitals in the big cities will from today also be administering the Covid vaccine to the general population. Those who wish to get the vaccine can simply show up at any time, without an appointment. More than 3.7 million people have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine in Romania since the start of the mass vaccination campaign on 27th December last year, with 2 million being fully vaccinated.


Parliament. The Romanian Parliament  resumes work this week. Today, the Senate is discussing a proposal to amend the criminal code to comply with a ruling of the Constitutional Court from 7th April according to which courts will be obliged to publish the justification of their judicial decisions together with the decisions in question. Also, the deadline for delivering a verdict cannot be postponed beyond 120 days. The Senate is also expected to vote on an initiative from the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) to set up a parliamentary committee  to investigate the evacuation and transfer of patients from Bucharest's main orthopaedics hospital when the latter was turned into a Covid hospital. A month ago, dozens of orthopaedic patients were moved in haste, others were discharged and yet others saw their surgeries postponed. The Chamber of Deputies will meet in full session on Wednesday, its agenda featuring several bills already rejected by the specialist committees, such as an initiative to raise child benefits and the periodic review, every 3 year, of documents based on which an employee is assigned a given occupational category.


School. Schools are reopening on Wednesday in Romania after a 4-week holiday. Education minister Sorin CĂ®mpeanu said in-person learning will resume for all nursery school and  primary school children, as well as for secondary and high school children where the Covid infection rate is below 1 case in 1,000 residents tested. According to the latest data, there are 1,800 such localities. In the other 1,400 localities with a higher infection rate, only final-year secondary and high school pupils will resume in person learning from 10th of May.


Pandemic world. The Indian Covid variant has been detected in a number of European countries, with the World Health Organisation warning against the relaxation of protection measures and saying that the world is not safe as long as the huge outbreak in India is still wreaking havoc. The Organisation called on the world's richest nations gathering at the G7 summit to provide the missing funding to ensure fair access to vaccination around the world. In the European Union, member states' ambassadors will discuss a proposal from the European Commission to allow entry of travellers from non-EU countries with a good epidemiological situation and who are fully vaccinated with the jabs approved in the Union. In Europe, states began to ease restrictions. In France, internal travel is now allowed, schools have reopened and shops, cinemas, restaurants and museums will also reopen at limited capacity from 19th May. Germany, however, has cancelled Oktoberfest next autumn for the second time in a row. In the US, the Florida governor announced the lifting of all restrictions following the success of the vaccination campaign and New York will resume round-the-clock subway service. Turkey, on the other hand, goes into its first full lockdown from today.


G7. The foreign ministers of the world's biggest economies will meet in London for their first face-to-face meeting in the last two years. Talks will focus on new ways to defend international regulations from external threats. UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab will chair discussions on the crisis in Myanmar and the relations with Russia, China and Iran. This first in-person meeting after two years is viewed by the UK as an opportunity to consolidate support for a rules-based international system at a time when China's economic influence and Russia's activities are threatening to undermine it. The G7 group is made up of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. Australia, India, South Korea and South Africa have also been invited to the 3-day summit.


Tennis. World no. 3 Simona Halep is today facing Belgium's Elise Mertens in the third round of the Madrid tennis tournament worth over 2.5 million euros. In second round on Sunday, Halep defeated China's Saisai Zheng. She has two titles in Madrid, winning here in 2016 and 2017 and losing two finals, in 2014 to Maria Sharapova and in 2019 to Kiki Bertens.(CM)



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Publicat: 2021-05-04 13:55:00
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