COVID-19 Roughly 3.8 million people have been vaccinated in Romania and two thirds of them have got the booster dose. In the last 24 hours a record-high number of 110,000 people have received a COVID-19 jab. All the Romanian territory is now in the so-called green zone as the epidemic has been contained in most of the regions. According to the Strategic Communication Group, in the past 24 hours 835 new SARS-CoV-2 cases have been reported, out of over 34,000 tests conducted nation wide. 105 people died, bringing the death toll up to 29,413. In Bucharest the infection rate dropped to 1.21 per thousand, and the number of vaccinated people is over 1 million. The vaccine roll-out continues, without the need for prior appointment, in all the centers across the country, including 10 drive-throughs in major cities. The coordinator of the vaccination campaign Valeriu Gheorghiţă said on Friday that the goal of 7 million people vaccinated by August 1 is “realistic, but it depends not only on a good organisation but also on citizens willingness to get the vaccine. This has to do with the information provided to them, and in this respect Gheorghiţǎ appealed to opinion leaders to get involved in the vaccination campaign.
RECOVERY In its National Recovery and Resilience plan (PNRR) Romania has included a number of reforms in several key areas and its pledges have been well received in Brussels, PM Florin Citu says. According to the head of the Bucharest executive, the plan is credible and doable and the cabinet members must work hard in the forthcoming period to complete the projects that are to be funded. During the visit he has recently paid to Brussels, the Romanian Prime Minister has assured the EU officials of Romania’s commitment to implementing the reforms comprised in the governing programme, in the fiscal-budgetary strategy, as well as in the convergence programme. Romania has pledged to present its PNRR by the end of May, with a one month delay against the original EU timeframe. Half of the EU members have so far presented their national plans for funding.
RELAXATION PM Florin Cîţu Friday promised governmental support for the hospitality industry, an economic sector severely affected by the pandemic. He said a strategy will be implemented to promote Romanian tourism both domestically and abroad. The head of government said things will gradually return to normal, with a first stage scheduled to start on May 15, and the second one on June 1. The new measures include, among other things, the scrapping of mandatory face covering while outdoors, as of Saturday, except for crowded areas, and the lifting of the night curfew. Shops will also resume their normal opening hours. Meanwhile, the National Committee for Emergency Situations Friday approved 4 pilot events in the cultural field, with 3 opera shows and 1 theatre play welcoming viewers up to 70% of the halls seating capacity.
POLL 45% of the Romanians intend to change their job after the pandemic, shows a recent poll conducted by an online recruiting platform. The main reason of the respondents is a higher pay. 11% want to go through a retraining programme whereas 9% are ready to leave the country. The categories standing the most chances to find a job are IT experts and qualified workers.
MILITARY The national defence minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă had a meeting on Friday in Bucharest with gen. major David H. Tabor, commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR). The two officials reviewed the security developments at the Black Sea, the Afghanistan pull-out calendar and bilateral cooperation avenues in terms of special operations forces. The expertise of our American partners in special operations will certainly improve the way in which our troops will adjust their strategic transformation process, so as to be prepared for any challenge, minister Ciucă said. He added that Romania acknowledged and appreciated the constant support of the US for the deterrence efforts regarding the Russian Federations aggressive actions and for ensuring stability at the Black Sea.
PROGRAMME Eagerly awaited by many Romanians, a scrapping programme for home appliances started on Friday, with tens of thousands of people enrolling on the dedicated online platform. The programme will have 3 stages, starting with the more energy-consuming home appliances, fridges and washing machines. The total budget is over 15 million euro, and should include 200,000 beneficiaries, who will get vouchers ranging from 40 to 100 euros for scrapping their old appliances. (tr. A.M. Popescu)
