October 14 2021

‘Quarantine out of question’, Romanian acting PM says

A quarantine on Bucharest is not taken into account as Romanian authorities are considering other measures tackling the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, Romania’s acting Prime Minister Florin Cîțu told reporters on Thursday. However, a green certificate could be requested for any economic activity, Mr Cîțu said while pointing out that he discussed the issue during talks with acting Health Minister Cseke Attila. Health workers in public and private sectors along with people working within the Emergency and Aviation General Inspectorates will have to be tested on their own expense in case they were not fully vaccinated. The matter is subject to a draft law signed by the prime minister and expected to go to parliament for debate shortly, Mr. Cîțu added.

Romanians celebrate Saint Paraskeva

More than 52,000 Christian Orthodox pilgrims are in the Moldavian north-eastern city of Iassy to worship relics of Paraskeva, a saint of the 10th century. Pilgrimage at the relics of the saint in Iassy Metropolitan Cathedral has become a tradition as it remained, and still remains one of the major religious events in Romania. Born in Epivates, a village close to today’s Istanbul, Turkey, Paraskeva died at the age of 27. St. Paraskeva’s relics were transfered to various churches in the region, from Krallikraleia, in Turkey, where she died, to Veliko Tarnovo, former capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, then to Belgrade, in Serbia, before reaching Constantinople (today’s Istanbul). In 1641, relics were transfered to the Trei Ierarhi Monastery in Iassy before finally reaching the near-by Metropolitan Cathedral in the same town, in 1888.

Romania coronavirus updates

Romania reported 16,383 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, with 304 deaths (149 men, 155 women) , and another 1,727 under intensive care. In the capital Bucharest, the number of cases hit 3,082, according to data issued by the country’s Strategic Communication Group (GCS). With the cases reported, the Romanian capital leads among other regions across the country followed by the southern county of Prahova with 924 cases, north-eastern county of Iassy with 813 cases, and the western county of Timiș with 783 cases.

Alexandru Danga