Radio România Internațional

Tag: vaccination campaign

Flu virus warning

For over two years, the
seasonal flu has all but disappeared from the list of top concerns, experts
preferring to focus their undivided attention on the coronavirus. Now that the
pandemic risk has toned down, the flu virus has returned to the spotlight. In
Romania, doctors warn that the virus has already begun to spread. The start of
a new school year has caused an increase in the number of respiratory
infections. Medical doctor Cecilia Rotar explains:

We’ve had three cases that
were confirmed by lab results, reported in children aged 9 months to 4 years. A
person without a medical history will be less affected by the virus. But if we
refer to people with low immunity, children under 4 years of age, pregnant
women, adults with a history of heart disease or diabetes, the evolution of the
disease will be slower and may lead to complications. My recommendation is that
people should see a doctor if they have the slightest suspicion they might be
sick or if parents decide they can’t treat their children at home. We’ll take
over and decide the best course of action.

Health experts expect a
larger impact of the flu virus this winter, after two years of being kept in
check due to anti-COVID safety restrictions. This is why vaccination remains
key to reducing the risk of infection, both in the case of the flu virus and
for coronavirus, particularly for at-risk categories. The first vaccine batches
are already available in drugstores. Epidemiologist Emilian Popovici says
people can take both the anti-flu and the anti-COVID vaccine on the same day.

There is no sign of
incompatibility between the two vaccines, on the contrary, they can be
administered on the same day, although not in the same arm. If we administer
one vaccine in the right arm, then we administer the other one in the left arm.
Moderna at one point announced its plans to develop a bivalent vaccine against
both the flu virus and SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, these vaccines are important and
they are administered depending on the medical history of each person.

Flu is a seasonal
respiratory virus that manifests differently in each person and may even lead
to death. (VP)

26 September 2022
January 29, 2022 UPDATE

COVID-19 – Saturday was the fourth consecutive day when Romania
reported over 30,000 daily Covid infections. Romania on Wednesday reported a
record-high number of new infections since the start of the pandemic – 34,255.
In Bucharest, the incidence rate has exceeded 16 per thousand inhabitants. The
rate has increased steadily since January 1, when it stood at 0.72. Health Minister, Alexandru Rafila, said the
number of daily infections is expected to exceed 40 thousand next week, and
that the pandemic will start to slow down in approximately 10 days. Against the
backdrop of the growing infection rate and the swift spread of the Omicron
strain, the Romanian authorities are looking for ways to facilitate access to
testing and treatment, in order to relieve the burden on hospitals and
ambulance services. People can get a rapid test for Covid free of charge in
over 4,000 family physician practices across the country, or by paying a small
fee in some 138 drug stores. At national level, the Covid bed occupation rate
stands at some 30%, although there are significant differences between
counties. Some 8 million people have completed the full anti-Covid vaccination
scheme.

JETS – The German Air Forces will deploy three Eurofighter jets to
Romania in February and March, in the context of NATO consolidating its
military presence in Eastern Europe, amidst growing tensions on the Ukrainian
border. The jets will be integrated in the Italian squadron that was deployed
to Romania last month. The Italian unit comprises 140 military, including
pilots and technical staff, operating four Eurofighter Typhoon jets and
carrying out air policing missions. On the other hand, Washington will soon be
deploying troops to Eastern Europe, US president Joe Biden has announced. The
United States has already put 8,500 troops on high alert in order to supplement
NATO’s rapid response force in case of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. President
Biden said, however, that no American troops will be dispatched to Ukraine,
which is not a member of NATO. In turn, France’s Defense Minister, Florence
Parly, told France Inter that Paris is willing to send hundreds of troops to
Romania, a NATO member and a neighbor of Ukraine. France is also ready to take
responsibility for building an international defense force to defend Romania,
in the event such a decision is taken at NATO level.

ARREST – Romanian businessman Ioan Neculaie, who was handed a final
two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for weapons and munitions crimes, has been
apprehended in Greece, according to the Romanian Police Inspectorate. An arrest
warned was issued in the name of the former owner of FC Brașov football club
last week when he didn’t show up to carry out his sentence. Neculaie has been
previously sentenced for similar crimes as well as for manslaughter, and was
released on parole in 2018.

UKRAINE – The European Union has condemned Russia’s decision to ban
the entry to Russia of several European officials, a decision that continues to
deepen the crisis in Ukraine. The Russian diplomacy on Friday announced that
the heads of several European private military companies, members of security
agencies and certain MEPs and other European officials will be henceforth
banned from entering Russia. According to the Russian Ministry for Foreign
Affairs, these people are personally responsible for promoting anti-Russian
policies. In response, Brussels says this decision lacks any legal
justification and transparency, and is bound to generate an adequate response.
In other new, France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, had a telephone conversation
with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. According to the French
presidency, Putin made no mention of any aggressive intensions and specifically
pointed out he seeks no armed confrontation with Ukraine. Additionally, the
Kremlin leader insisted on resuming Russian-Ukrainian negotiations, moderated
by France and Germany in the so-called Normandy format. In turn, Ukraine’s
president, Volodymyr Zelensky, urged Western leaders not to spread panic
regarding tensions with Russia, considering that diplomatic efforts have
intensified with a view to solving this crisis.

HANDBALL – The Romanian men’s handball
team will play North Macedonia in the first round of the 2023 World Cup
playoffs following Saturday’s draw hosted by Budapest. If it wins, Romania will
next play the Czech Republic in the second round in April. In other news, Romanian
handball club CS Măgura Cisnădie on
Saturday defeated HC Lada Togliatti of Russia, scored 27-24 on home turf, in an
EHF European League match. Ranking first in Group C is Herning-Ikast Handbold
of Denmark with 4 points in two matches, followed by CS Măgura Cisnădie with 4
points in 3 matches. The top two teams will advance to the quarterfinals. In
the next group fixture, CS Măgura Cisnădie will take on Lada Togliatti away
from home on February 6. (VP)

29 January 2022
August 30, 2021 UPDATE

COVID-19 -Valeriu Gheorghiţă, the man in charge
of Romania’s vaccine rollout, has told a private TV channel that the daily
number of Covid infections in Romania is expected to go above 2,000 in
mid-September instead of the initial estimates of 1,500 – 1,600. Gheorghiţă expects
the situation to worsen because of the Delta strain, which is to become
dominant even in Romania. According to him, the high degree of mobility and
people interaction largely contribute to spreading the virus. 700 new cases of
COVID-19 were reported by the authorities on Monday in addition to 19 related
fatalities. More than 2,000 patients are being treated in hospitals, 280 people
in ICUs. In spite of these alarming figures, the interest of the Romanians in
getting the vaccine is still low, only 5,600 hundred people got the jab
yesterday. And since the rollout kicked off in late December last year only 5.1
million Romanians have been fully vaccinated. The Government on Monday adopted
a decree providing 20-Euro meal vouchers to people taking the anti-COVID shot
and announced the organization of a vaccination lottery. The decree also
validates the use of European Green Certificates on Romanian territory.

PARLIAMENT -
Romania’s Parliament this week is due to start its autumn session. Attending
the opening sitting on Wednesday will be Moldovan Parliament Speaker Igor
Grosu. Wednesday’s agenda includes the law on vulnerable consumers. Chamber of
Deputies Speaker, Liberal leader Ludovic Orban, recently said the document is
aimed at supporting families with low income pay one energy bill. According to
the said law, vulnerable consumers are defined as people who live alone and
with a monthly income below 1,445 Lei, or families with an average monthly
income of 810 Lei per person. The Social-Democrats in opposition have called
for the debate and swift adoption of the document, saying the law should come
into force by the end of the year, instead of January next year, as the
Government originally proposed. Senators await the ruling coalition to decide
on the way they want to handle the elimination of the Special Section for
Investigating Crime in Justice. All have agreed the section must be disbanded,
although for the time being, no clear solution has been found at coalition
level, despite numerous meetings.

MIGRANTS -
Interior Minister Lucian Bode on Monday said Romania has the capacity of
receiving and accommodating Afghan migrants, provided the check-ups be
conducted by Romanian security structures. Bucharest can receive journalists,
magistrates and students studying in Romania and at-risk people in Afghanistan.
Romania is on the transit route to the Western Balkans, the Romanian official
has recalled. Since January 1, some 47 thousand migrants have tried to
illegally cross into Romania, of whom 10,000 were picked up within the
country’s borders, at the border or trying to leave Romania. 37,000 of them
were turned back.

FIREFIGHTERS -
Romanian Prime Minister, Florin Cîţu, on Monday congratulated the Romanian
firefighters who joined the international efforts aimed at putting out
wildfires in Greece. According to a post on the government’s Facebook page,
firefighters from Romania did an excellent job in Greece. We recall that
Romania had deployed to Greece 142 firefighters, 8 fire engines, three tankers,
a command center as well as equipment and other elements of logistics. The 142
Romanian firefighters got promoted on Monday upon a request by the Interior
Minister Lucian Bode and the head of the Department for Emergency Situations
(DSU), Raed Arafat. They have also been awarded the DSU Honorary Medal. This is
the second squad of firefighters from Romania to intervene in Greece. In early
August, Romania had deployed 100 firefighters to Greece and 23 fire engines.

FESTIVAL – On the third day of the ‘George Enescu’ Festival,
music lovers enjoyed on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum, the performances
offered by the Baltic Sea Philharmonic Orchestra, an orchestra with artists
from 10 countries in Northern Europe, such as Sweden, Estonia, Denmark and
Russia. Pianist Maria Joao Pires performed pieces of Mozart at the Athenaeum
accompanied by the Baltic Sea Philharmonic. Under the baton of conductor
Kristjan Jarvi, music lovers listened to Enescu’s second symphony in A major as
well as to his own creation entitled ‘Aurora’. Also on Monday, the Palace Hall
in Bucharest hosted a concert given by London Symphony Orchestra. On Sunday, this
famous orchestra presented Ondrej Adamek’s ‘Where are you’, a piece specially
made for mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozena and the great conductor Sir. Simon
Rattle. 32 orchestras from 14 countries are participating in this anniversary
edition of the George Enescu International Festival. (DB & VP)

30 August 2021
August 29, 2021 UPDATE

COVID-19 – Romania remains
in the green zone, although the number of COVID-19 patients requiring medical
treatment is on the rise. There are 1,115 people now being treated for
coronavirus in hospitals across Romania, the highest number reported in the
last three months, while 269 people are in intensive care. 868 new cases of
infection and 19 related fatalities were reported on Sunday by the Group for
Strategic Communication, most new cases being signaled in Bucharest and in
Cluj, Timiş and Iaşi counties. Since
the start of the vaccination campaign, 5.1 million people have completed the
full vaccination scheme. Health Minister Ioana Mihăilă said that if the
epidemiological context worsens, travel restrictions may target only people who
haven’t taken the vaccine, and that schools will stay open for as long as
possible. The Romanian official also said the authorities shouldn’t cover the
costs entailed by testing as long as the vaccine is free of charge and widely
available.

PANDEMIC – The list of
countries with a high epidemiological risk will come into force on Sunday at
midnight. Greece, Turkey, North Macedonia, Spain and Switzerland are in the red
zone, which means all arrivals from these countries will be exempted from
quarantine only if people provide proof of vaccination. The yellow zone now
includes Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, Slovenia, Japan, Palestine and the
Philippines. Romanians returning from the yellow zone will not enter quarantine
if they have the vaccine, had the disease of provide a PCR negative test. The
United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and the British Virgin Islands are now in the
green zone.

EXHIBITION – A Romanian Air
Force aircraft on Sunday transported to Spain artifacts to be presented in the
exhibition Archeological Treasures of Romania – Dacian and Roman Roots.
Bringing together 835 exceptional exhibits from the collections of 39 museums in
Romania, the exhibition will be opened to the general public at the National
Museum of Archaeology in Madrid, and is being coordinated by Romania’s History
Museum. The exhibition will open on September 30 and will close at the end of
January, 2022. It is organized under the aegis of the Romanian Ministries of
Culture and Foreign Affairs, with support from the Defense Ministry, and is
part of the Agenda of Public and Cultural Diplomacy devoted in 2021 to marking
140 years of diplomatic relations between Romania and Spain. The exhibition
also enjoys the high patronage of His Majesty, King Felipe 6th of
Spain and of Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis.

MOLDOVA – Moldovan
Parliament speaker Igor Grosu on September 1 will be attending the opening of
the second session of the Romanian Parliament. Over August 31 – September 2 the
Moldovan official will pay an official visit to Bucharest, invited by his
Romanian counterpart, Liberal Ludovic Orban. Romania reiterates its firm and
wide support for the processes of reform and European integration of the
Republic of Moldova, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis on Friday said in
Chişinău. The Romanian official pointed out Romania and Moldova are bound by a
solid relationship: a communion of language, culture and history. The president
said the people of Moldova have expressed their firm option in the latest
election for the pro-reform trajectory and irreversible European accession of
their country, offering a worthy example to follow by other states in the
region. The president gave assurances Romania will remain Moldova’s trusted
partner in the future as well. The president attended festivities marking 30
years since the proclamation of independence of neighboring Moldova.

FESTIVAL – A new edition
of the George Enescu International Festival has started. This year the Festival
has reached its 25th, edition, marking 140 years since the birth of
the great Romanian composer. Over 3,500 artists will take part over August 28 -
September 26 in the festival. Concerts will be held in Bucharest, Sibiu,
Timişoara, Iaşi and Constanţa, and will be divided in four sections: Great
World Orchestras, Concerts and Recitals, Music of the 21st Century and Enescu
and his Contemporaries. Russian conductor Vladimir Jurowski, this year’s
artistic director, says the event will bring together the most important musicians
from all over the world, helping promote the values of united Europe. Radio
Romania is co-producer of the Festival.

TENNIS – 4 of the 5
Romanian tennis players who qualified to the main draw at the US Open will play
in the opening round on Monday. Simona Halep (13 WTA) will play Camila Giorgi
of Italy (36 WTA). Irina Begu (74 WTA) will go up against Andrea Petkovic of
Germany (66 WTA). Ana Bogdan (106 WTA) will play Rebeka Masarova of Spain (231
WTA). Gabriela Ruse (108 WTA) will take on Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech
Republic (40 WTA). Finally, Sorana Cîrstea (38 WTA) will play
Veronika Kudermetova of Russia (31 WTA) on Tuesday. (VP)

29 August 2021
July 31, 2021 UPDATE

COVID-19 – 156 new cases of
COVID infection were reported on Saturday, in addition to 3 related fatalities.
56 people are now in intensive care. We recall that, starting August 1,
teenagers aged 12-17 can receive the anti-COVID vaccine produced by Moderna, in
addition to the Pfizer vaccine. Romania is closing in on the 5 million
vaccinated people mark, of whom most have completed the full vaccination
scheme. The number, however, is below the authorities expectations.

CYBER ATTACKS – Romanian
hospitals are vulnerable to cyber-attacks, while their level of digital
security is low, the Romanian Intelligence Service has warned, after last week
a hospital in Bucharest was the target of a ransomware attack. According to the
Service, such attacks are used by hackers to demand ransom for crypted data.
Although of medium or low complexity, the attacks may severely disrupt the
activity of healthcare institutions. The Service recommends the adoption of
centralized measures to impose the implementation of minimum cyber security at
the level of these institutions.

ATTACK – The Foreign
Ministry in Bucharest announced it would provide all the necessary assistance
and will actively monitor the investigation into the circumstances of the
violent attack that killed a Romanian national on Thursday in the Arabian Sea.
The Ministry recalls that so far Romania’s missions have received no requests
for consular assistance. One Romanian citizen and a British one were killed
during an attack on Thursday onboard the Mercer Street oil tanker off the Oman
coast in the Arabian Sea. According to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade
Operations, an anti-piracy organization, the attack took place some 280
kilometers southeast of Oman’s capital city. Zodiac Maritime issued a statement
saying the ship was Japanese-owned.

AMBASSDOR – Romania’s new
ambassador to the United States, Andrei Muraru, was on Friday received at the
US State Department where he presented copies of his letters of accreditation.
In a post on Facebook, the Romanian diplomat said the reception is a rare
exception made by the US State Department, which is a clear indication of the
special importance of US-Romanian relations. Andrei Muraru said that, during
his meetings with US officials, he expressed Romania’s firm commitment to
consolidating the strategic partnership at military, political, economic,
cultural and educational levels.

DEFICIT – Romania’s
budget deficit stood below 3% of the GDP after the first six months of the
year, which signals a drop according to centralized data published by the
Finance Ministry. Budget revenues are 20% higher compared to the similar period
of last year. Spending also went up by 10%, compared to 2020. The largest share
represented investment, followed by COVID-related spending. Personnel spending
also went up 4.5%, while social welfare expenses also increased by some 9%.

VISIT – Principal
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, Kathryn Huff and David Muniz,
Charge d’affaires of the US Embassy in Bucharest on Friday visited the Nuclear
Power Plant at Cernavodă. According to a US Embassy release, the visit was
aimed at starting bilateral talks over the recent ratification by president
Klaus Iohannis of the US-Romanian inter-government agreement, also marking the
10th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership between the two
states. The US Embassy also says the agreement allows for cooperation in key
sectors for Romania as well as in the field of civilian nuclear energy,
particularly as regards projects to build Units 3 and 4 and modernizing Unit 1
at the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant. The USA and Romania in October 2020
signed an extended inter-government cooperation agreement regarding the
development of nuclear energy projects at Cernavodă and in the field of
civilian nuclear energy in Romania. In November 2020, the European Commission
ratified the US-Romanian agreement that provides for the building of reactors 3
and 4 at Cernavodă. The project will be using the CANDU 6 technology, which is
similar to the current one being used in units 1 and 2.

FESTIVAL – Cancelled last
year due to the COVID pandemic, the Medieval Sighişoara Festival, the
longest-lasting festival of its kind in Romania, will this year bring together
artists, craftsmen and a large number of guests. The only medieval citadel
still inhabited in southeastern Europe, Sighişoara will this weekend see
warriors, knights, ladies of the court and master craftsmen pouring in from all
corners of the country and from abroad. On Friday, the medieval play The Farce
of Master Pathelin, stage directed by our colleague from the Aromanian
Service, Toma Enache, who is also the festival’s stage director, was premiered.
A concert by the band Phoenix is scheduled for Sunday. Entry is free of charge,
face masks are mandatory and only vaccinated people or those presenting a negative
PCR test for COVID-19 can attend the performances.

WEATHER – A heat wave
continues to grip Romania, with code orange and yellow alerts having been
issued in most regions. Meteorologists expect extremely high temperatures,
thunderstorms, but also strong wind and hail during the interval. Highs may
exceed 38 degrees locally. (VP)

31 July 2021
July 28, 2021

COVID-19 – The number of infections in Romania
remains low, although it has gone up in recent days. According to the head of
the vaccination campaign, medical doctor Valeriu Gheorghiţă, nearly 90% of the
people currently diagnosed with COVID-19 are not vaccinated, while over 91% of
related fatalities were people who hadn’t taken the anti-COVID jab. Right now,
some 30% of Romania’s total population got immunized. Starting August 2, young
people aged 12-17 can also receive the Moderna vaccine, Valeriu Gheorghiţă
said. The Romanian official went on to say that, by mid-September, Romania
might start administering the third dose of the vaccine for at-risk categories,
such as health workers, chronically ill and people over 65 years of age. So
far, 4.8 million people have completed the full vaccination scheme in Romania.
On Wednesday, 159 new COVID infections were reported and 1 related death. 47
people are in intensive care.

GOVERNMENT – The Government is today discussing plans to further ease
anti-COVID restrictions starting August 1. Additional measures will be taken in
the case of vaccinated people, those who present a negative PCR test, no older
than 72 hours, or a rapid test no older than 24 hours, or those who have had
the disease in the last six months. All of the aforementioned categories will
be allowed to attend cultural events held outdoors within the limit of 2,500
people, in those towns and villages where the incidence rate is below 3 per
thousand inhabitants, and within the limit of 75,000 people where the rate is
below 2 per thousand. The 2,500-limit can be exceeded in the case of vaccinated
people. For sports events, crowd attendance is limited to 50% of the venue’s
full capacity. Also today, the Government is expected to discuss a bill
modifying the adoption law, by cutting waiting times and making the application
process non-discriminatory.

HEAT WAVE – Meteorologists have issued a code orange alert against
extreme heat and thermal discomfort in seven counties in the south and the
capital Bucharest, in place until Saturday. Maximum temperatures are expected
to reach 40 degrees Centigrade locally. A code yellow alert against extreme
heat is in place until Saturday for all other regions, with highs ranging from
34 to 39 degrees. Passenger and freight trains will travel at reduced speeds
during the interval. Road traffic authorities have also warned some
restrictions may be introduced due to the extreme heat.

IMF – The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday maintained its
6% economic growth estimate for global economy this year and upgraded its
outlook on the United States and other developed economies, while downgrading
its forecast for a number of developing countries affected by the fallout of
COVID-19. In the case of Romania, in October last year the IMF estimated a
growth rate of 4.6% this year. The new outlook expects Romanian economic growth
to reach 6% this year. Additionally, the IMF has upgraded its forecast for
2022, from 3.9% as originally estimated, to 4.8%. According to the new report,
Romania’s economic growth rates for 2021 and 2022 will stand above the European
average.

INFRINGEMENT – The European Commission decided to start infringement
proceedings against 12 Member States, including Romania, for their failure to
transpose EU rules banning unfair trade practices in the agricultural and food
supply chain. The deadline for transposing the regulations into national law
was May 1, 2021. The Commission sent letters of formal notice to Austria,
Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Slovenia and Spain requesting them to adopt and notify the relevant
measures. The Member States have now two months to reply.

BEAR CENSUS – A bear census worth 11 million Euro
started on Wednesday in Romania. Minister for Investments and European
Projects, Cristian Ghinea, explained the project is funded under the Large
Infrastructure Operational Programme. There will be two lines of investment,
one focusing on the bear census itself, while the other will help implement state-of-the-art
technologies aimed at limiting the interaction of bears with humans. On the
other hand, the Senate convened in an extraordinary sitting today to discuss
the Government’s emergency decree regulating emergency intervention in case of
bear attacks. Adopted last week, the bill stipulates bears can be tranquilized
and relocated in low-risk cases, or even shot if they pose a risk to the
livelihood of people or their livestock.

OLYMPICS – Romania has won two medals in Wednesday’s
rowing finals at the Tokyo Olympics: Ancuţa
Bodnar and Simona Radiş won gold in the women’s double scull event, while
Romania’s four crew, made up of Mihăiţă Ţigănescu, Mugurel Semciuc, Ştefan
Berariu and Cosmin Pascari scooped silver. Adding to the two medals is
Ana-Maria Popescu’s silver medal scooped in the women’s epee event. Also on
Wednesday, three Romanian rowing crews secured qualification to the A Finals:
the women’s lightweight double scull crew, the men’s pair and the women’s eight
crew. In swimming, David Popovici has qualified to the A final of the 100-meter
freestyle event from fifth position with a time of 47.72. Earlier this month,
Popovici set a new world junior record at the European championships in Rome. (VP)

28 July 2021
July 5, 2021

COVID-19 ROMANIA – Romania continues to report decreasing numbers of infection, and the
entire country is in the so-called green scenario. 28 new cases of COVID-19
were reported on Monday, in addition to 45 related deaths. 65 patients are
currently in intensive care. Since the start of the pandemic, nearly 34
thousand people lost their lives to the virus. On the other hand, another 12
thousand people got immunized on Sunday. Since the start of the vaccination
campaign on December 27, 2020, over 4.7 million people have completed the full
immunization scheme.

COVID-19 WOLRD
– Over 184 million people got infected with COVID-19 all over the world so far.
According to worldometers.info, nearly 4 million people were killed and 169
million have recovered. In Europe, the authorities warn against the rapid
spread of the Delta strain of the virus, discovered in India. The French
Government said the infection rate might go up by the end of the month unless
the vaccination campaign picks up. France too is discussing the possibility of
imposing mandatory vaccination for workers in the healthcare system, where the
immunization rate remains below expectations. Italy maintains the state of
alert, despite the improving epidemiological context and with the lifting of
several restrictions. Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza advised caution,
particularly against the backdrop of the Delta strain now spreading fast.
Meanwhile, several regions in Spain continue to report growing numbers of
infection.

EXPLOSION -
Two of the workers injured in the blast at Petromidia Refinery in Năvodari, who
were transported to a hospital in Bucharest, are due to be transferred to a
clinic abroad. They are currently stable and their medical expenses will be
covered by KazMunayGas Group, the majority shareholder at Rometrol. Prosecutors
have launched a criminal investigation for manslaughter, bodily injury and
criminal damage following Friday’s explosion at Petromidia Refinery, which
killed one person and injured another five. According to Rompetrol, the
incident was caused by a crack in one of the pipes.

DEATH – Luminiţa
Gheorghiu, one of the most acclaimed film Romanian actresses, has passed away.
Her name is tied to the new wave of Romanian cinematography. She featured in The
Death of Mr. Lăzărescu directed by Cristi Puiu,
after having starred in another feature film of his, Stuff and Dough, a
production that marked the beginning of the so-called new wave in Romanian
cinematography. Her rich filmography includes appearances in The Moromete
Family directed by Stere Gulea, 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days directed by
Cristian Mungiu which scooped the Palme d’Or at Cannes, 12:08 East of
Bucharest directed by Corneliu Porumboiu and Child’s Pose directed by Călin
Netzer, which grabbed the Golden Bear.

TAROM – The
European Commission on Monday launched an investigation to ascertain whether
the support measures provided by the Romanian state to the national airliner
TAROM fall in line with EU regulations on state aid for companies facing
difficulties. The financial situation at TAROM has been difficult for several
years. In February, 2020, the state granted TAROM a bailout aid worth €36.7 million,
approved by the Commission. On May 28, 2021, the Romanian authorities notified
the Commission over plans to restructure TAROM under a public funding worth
€190 million. This new assistance will be granted as capital injections, state
subsidies and the elimination of debt tantamount to the original bailout
package and its related interest. The investigation allows Romania and third
parties to make observations without affecting its result.

FOOTBALL -
Romania’s Under-23 team continues its training ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
Romania was drawn in Group B and will play Honduras on July 22, South Korea on
the 25th and New Zealand on the 28th. Romania qualified
to the Olympic Games after reaching the semi-finals of the 2019 Under-21
European Championship hosted by Italy and San Marino. Romania’s last
participation in the football event at the Olympic Games dates back to 1964,
when our country ranked 5th. Previously, Romania took part in the
1924 (Paris) and 1952 (Helsinki) editions.

TENNIS -
Raluca Olaru of Romania and Nadiia Kichenok of Ukraine are today going up
against Caroline Dolehide of the United States and Storm Sanders of Australia
in the round of 16 in the women’s doubles at Wimbledon. Olaru and Kichenok are
seeded 13th in the competition. Raluca Olaru is the last representative of
Romania at Wimbledon. (VP)

5 July 2021
June 20, 2021 UPDATE

WEATHER
– Hydrologists on Sunday issued code red alerts against flash floods for
several rivers in the southeast. Previously meteorologists had issued code
orange and yellow alerts against heavy rain and thunderstorms in place across
Romania until Monday. Flash floods are expected to hit the targeted areas in
the wake of massive rainfall reported in recent weeks. The situation was also
addressed on Sunday by Prime Minister Florin Cîţu on the sidelines of a videoconference held jointly with county
prefects. The Prime Minister has demanded an exemplary mobilization in all
counties affected by the floods and announced emergency aid will be provided to
everyone affected. Two thirds of the country’s counties and the capital city
have been affected. The emergency services intervened to evacuate homes, drain
water, clear uprooted trees that damaged hundreds of cars. At least two people were
killed.

FAC
– Romania’s Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, on Monday is attending the
Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg. According to a Foreign Ministry
release, EU Foreign Ministers will be tackling the latest developments in
EU-Russia relations, the EU’s role in the Peacekeeping Process in the Middle
East, as well as the developments in Mali, Lebanon, Iran, Turkey and Ethiopia.
Talks will also address debates on Belarus, Latin America and Iraq. As regards
Russia, the Romanian Foreign Minister will reiterate the need for a unitary and
strategic approach to EU-Russia relations. On the other hand, Bogdan Aurescu
will highlight the importance of increased EU support for the democratization
and stabilization of Iraq, expressing Romania’s support for the setup of a
European Union mission that should observe the organization of free, fair and
inclusive elections in this country. Minister Aurescu will also refer to the
importance of EU actions with a view to adopting a comprehensive set of
sanctions and imposing restrictions in key economic fields, aimed at sending a
strong political message to authorities in Belarus. The Romanian official will
also address the forthcoming steps for the promotion of the Economic Plan for a
Democratic Belarus, as a positive EU measure supporting the local population, a
project proposed in October 2020 by president Klaus Iohannis jointly with his
Polish and Lithuanian counterparts.

COVID-19
IN ROMANIA – The number of COVID-19 infections continues to drop in Romania. 53
new infections were reported on Sunday. 161 patients are still in intensive
care. Meanwhile, medical units are gradually returning to their normal activity.
Some hospital managers say their institutions are now better prepared to cope
with a possible fourth wave of the pandemic. Health Minister Ioana Mihăilă said the Indian strain of the
coronavirus can become dominant in Romania as well, which is why the percentage
of vaccinated people must increase. According to Romania’s representative at
the WHO, Alexandru Rafila, unless the vaccination campaign picks up, only 7
million people are expected to get vaccinated in Romania by the end of the
year, below the official target of the authorities. In the last 24 hours, some
20,000 people have taken the anti-COVID jab. Since the start of the campaign
last year, over 8.7 million doses of vaccine have been administered, 4.3
million people having completed the full COVID vaccination scheme.

PENTECOST – On Sunday, Orthodox and
Eastern-Catholic Christians around the world, including Romania, celebrated
Pentecost Sunday, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles of Jesus
Christ. The feast day also marks the foundation of the Christian Church 50 days
after the Lord’s Resurrection. According to the New Testament, the 12 apostles
were gathered in a house, when they received the Holy Spirit, which enabled
them to preach the gospel in languages they never before spoke. According to
the Bible, Saint Peter’s sermon made 3,000 souls take the Christian baptism,
making up the first Christian community. Orthodox believers receive sanctified
walnut leaves, symbolizing the flames of the Holy Spirit resting on the heads
of the Apostles. The Traffic Police has deployed additional units on the main
roads to the seacoast or mountain resorts, where most Romanians are spending
their Pentecost mini-holiday.

TENNIS – The Romanian-German pair Horia Tecău/Kevin Krawietz on Sunday won the men’s doubles event at the ATP
500 tournament in Halle, Germany, totalling €1.3 million in total prizes, after
defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada)/Hubert Hurkacz (Poland), 7-6, 6-4.
Tecău and Krawietz, the competition’s third-seeds, have won their first final
after losing another two in Rotterdam and Barcelona in spring. (VP)

20 June 2021
June 20, 2021

COVID-19
IN ROMANIA – The number of COVID-19 infections continues to drop in Romania. 53
new infections were reported on Sunday. 161 patients are still in intensive
care. Meanwhile, medical units are gradually returning to their normal activity.
Some hospital managers say their institutions are now better prepared to cope
with a possible fourth wave of the pandemic. Health Minister Ioana Mihăilă said the Indian strain of the
coronavirus can become dominant in Romania as well, which is why the percentage
of vaccinated people must increase. According to Romania’s representative at
the WHO, Alexandru Rafila, unless the vaccination campaign picks up, only 7
million people are expected to get vaccinated in Romania by the end of the
year, below the official target of the authorities. In the last 24 hours, some
25,000 people have taken the anti-COVID jab. Since the start of the campaign
last year, over 8.7 million doses of vaccine have been administered, 4.3
million people having completed the full COVID vaccination scheme.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – Russia has reported new
record-high numbers of COVID-19 infection. For this reason, the authorities
have introduced new restrictive measures. On Saturday, the number of COVID
cases was close to 18,000, the highest figure since January 31 this year, of
which over 9,000 in Moscow, an all-time negative high. Nearly 90% of COVID
cases in Moscow are represented by the Indian strain of the coronavirus.
According to the authorities, the main reasons behind the soaring infection
rate include the slow progress of the vaccination campaign, people failing to
observe restrictions and the rise in the infectiousness of the virus. In the
Russian capital city, restrictions this week were extended until June 29, with
other measures due to be imposed starting Monday also in Saint Petersburg, a
city hosting EURO 2020 matches. On the other hand, over half a million
Brazilians have died to the COVID-19 virus, while the local authorities are
making great efforts to cope with the third wave of the pandemic. Thousands of
people protested in several cities against president Jair Bolsonaro’s
government, calling for accelerating the vaccination campaign. At present, only
11% of the country’s population have completed the COVID-19 vaccination scheme.
Worldwide, nearly 179 million people got infected and 3.8 million people died
since the start of the pandemic, the latest worldometers.info update reveals.

PENTECOST -Orthodox and Eastern-Catholic
Christians around the world, including Romania, on Sunday celebrated the
descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles of Jesus Christ, a celebration
also known as the Pentecost. The feast day also marks the foundation of the
Christian Church 50 days after the Lord’s Resurrection. According to the New
Testament, the 12 apostles were gathered in a house, when they received the
Holy Spirit, which enabled them to preach the gospel in languages they never before
spoke. According to the Bible, Saint Peter’s sermon made 3,000 souls take the
Christian baptism, making up the first Christian community. Orthodox believers
receive sanctified walnut leaves, symbolizing the flames of the Holy Spirit
resting on the heads of the Apostles. The Traffic Police has deployed
additional units on the main roads to the seacoast or mountain resorts, where
most Romanians are spending their Pentecost mini-holiday.

EURO 2020 – EURO 2020 continues on Sunday
with matches in Group A, Italy versus Wales and Switzerland versus Turkey. On
Saturday, in Group F, Hungary held France to a 1-all draw, while in Munich,
Germany defeated Portugal 4-2. Also on Saturday, in Group E, Spain and Poland
were tied 1-all. Patrik Schick of the Czech Republic and Cristiano Ronaldo of
Portugal are the competition’s top scorers so far, each with three goals. For
the first time in its history, Bucharest is playing host to European
Championship matches, 3 in the group phase and 1 in the round of 16. Romania is
represented by two delegations of referees.

WRESTLING – Romanian wrestler Iosif
Alexandru Ionescu won bronze in the 65-kg category in the Greek-Roman event at
the Under-21 European Wrestling Championships held on Saturday in Samokov,
Bulgaria. Ionescu defeated Zakhar Yanevich of Belarus in the bronze final. Romania
has so far won 4 medals at the Wrestling Championships. Apart from Ionescu’s
bronze, Georgiana Carla Lircă won gold in the 57-kg category, Alexandra
Voiculescu scooped silver in the 40-kg category, while Daniel Marian Sandu
grabbed silver in the 60-kg freestyle event.

WEATHER – Code orange and yellow alerts against heavy rain and
thunderstorms are in place across Romania until Monday. During the interval,
meteorologists expect heavy rain, strong wind and severe thunderstorms,
particularly in the east and the south. The weather will remain unstable
halfway through next week, particularly in mountainous areas. Hydrologists have
also issued code orange and yellow alerts against flash floods for the major
rivers, in place until Monday. The heavy rainfall in recent days has killed
people and affected thousands of homes. In Bucharest a few hundred home were
flooded and trees were uprooted. Road traffic has also been disrupted on
several national roads. (VP)

20 June 2021
Vaccination – between trust and mistrust

Most
Romanians are aware of the danger COVID-19 represents, and nearly half of the
population believes the pandemic will go on for at least two-three years, a
study conducted by the Quality of Life Research Institute of the Romanian
Academy reads. Sociologist Iulian Stănescu, a scientific researcher with the
Institute, told Radio Romania more about Romanians’ waning confidence and
solidarity during the pandemic.

In
situations of social crisis, much like the recent epidemic, but we could also
talk about war, terrorist attacks and other crises, some societies experience an
increase in cohesion, others a drop. Romanian society is part of the latter,
and I can say since the start of the pandemic, social cohesion has been
affected, Romania’s social backbone is tired. In other words, society is losing
its resilience. And resilience is also that feature of society that helps her
resist social shocks and crises and better absorb their effects.

Over
half of Romanians (56%) would recommend a friend to get vaccinated, with the elderly
and people with higher education being the most vaccine-prone. There are,
however, over 2 million people from all social categories that oppose vaccination
and would counter-recommend it. The main reasons behind vaccination reluctance
and hesitancy are the lack of information, manipulation and disinformation, but
also adverse reactions, including death, mistrust in the efficiency of vaccine,
but also the belief that the COVID pandemic doesn’t exist. The percentage of
people who deny the existence of the virus has reached 6% of the population,
accounting for 800 thousand people, a group large and active enough to make its
presence felt, the researchers also note. At a time when immunization is at its
lowest, the authorities highlight the need to complete the COVID vaccination
scheme and are preparing wider awareness-raising campaigns in the rural area, where
the immunization rate remains low. According to the coordinator of the vaccination
campaign, medical doctor Valeriu Gheorghiţă, nearly 50% of vaccination centers
are at present working at half-capacity. The activity in certain centers will
stop in the near future, while others will see their working hours reduced.
With a progressive drop in the number of people taking the anti-COVID jab,
the quantity of vaccines delivered to Bucharest will be slashed as well. So far,
60% of the 15 million doses made available to Romania by the European
Commission have been used. (VP)

18 June 2021
Romania has over 4 million COVID double jabs

Over four million Romanians got the full COVID vaccine treatment, both jabs since the start of the vaccination campaign, kicked off on 27 December, 2020. In spite of this, the rate of inoculation is dropping, and as of official figures, Romania actually vaccinated under 50,000 people within 24 hours, amounting to half of their peak count. In total, over 8.2 million doses have been administered overall.

The head of the vaccination campaign, Valeriu Gheorghita, said he was pleased with how the vaccination campaign ran, considering that the necessary infrastructure had been provided. As he said, We made a major effort during this period, firstly to create an infrastructure that hadn’t existed, with vaccination centers, non existent previously, we went all in – vaccination in family treatment centers, health centers of all levels, private operators, and vaccination marathon events. At this point, only unwilling people won’t take the vaccine.

While admitting that the rate of vaccination is slowing down, he put that that down to lack of willingness, not lack of organization. According to the present jab czar, Romania has the easiest access to the vaccine, but that people have to be willing to take it. As he put it:

Of course it can be better, but it doesn’t have to do with the way in which the vaccination campaign runs. I believe people have the best access in all the European countries. People can pick their kind of vaccine, even at their place of employment, with mobile teams.

In his opinion, Romania had proper epidemiological control, considering it registered a hundred cases of daily SARS-CoV-2 infections, and that the average national incidence is at about .2 at the thousand.

Again, Valeriu Gheorghita:

We have a positive testing rate of .6 per one thousand, which I think posits us in a good place epidemiologically. What matters is that we don’t let our guard down.

He added that this week, 35 public hospitals and six private units would administer vaccines.

We recall that Gheorghita announced that during this week there were vaccinations going on in 35 more public hospitals and 6 private clinics. Also, starting on June 2,we started vaccinations of children between 12 and 15 with the Pfizer vaccine, which makes Romania the first country in Europe to start immunizing this age bracket. At the same time, the authorities have set a target of 10 million immunized by September 1, and that puts us in place for the green certificate for vaccination, to be launched at the European level. (Calin Cotoiu)

9 June 2021
The vaccination campaign in rural areas

While new deliveries of anti-COVID-19 vaccine continue
to arrive in Romania every month, the vaccination campaign is showing signs of
slowdown, and the targets of central authorities have not been met. Overall,
since the start of the campaign last year, Romania received over 9 million
doses of vaccine produced by Pfizer, adding to which were deliveries of the AstraZeneca,
Moderna and Johnson&Johnson vaccines. The total number of people who have
taken the vaccine has exceeded 4.5 million, below the 5 million target
announced by Prime Minister Florin Cîțu for the start of June. During a visit to a drive-through vaccination center
in Baia-Mare, the Prime Minister said the vaccination campaign must enter a new
phase where the serum should reach everyone, even when access is difficult,
especially in rural areas. In this respect, Florin Cîțu called on the leaders
of small communities to get involved.

I met young people under 18
years of age [who got vaccinated e.n.], which sends out a strong signal, but we
should all understand we accomplished the best we could with the available
resources. To get the vaccination campaign to rural areas we need the support
of local authorities – the president of the county council, the prefect, the
mayor, but also influencers – priests, doctors, local law enforcement. Everyone
must get involved to get the campaign closer to people. I trust they will come
up with innovative solutions to convince people vaccination is the only way we
can all return to our lives before the pandemic.

In turn, Health Minister Ioana Mihăilă promised she would travel every week
across the country to encourage the vaccination process. Will the Government’s
target of 10 million vaccinated people be reached by September? The Health
Minister believes the important thing is to get as many people vaccinated as
possible, so that the incidence rate should be kept in check. According to Ioana
Mihăilă, the campaign is currently focusing on at-risk categories, namely
elderly and people with chronic illnesses. Adding to them are people exposed to
the secondary effects of COVID-19, and children aged 12-15, who transmit the
disease more easily. (VP)

7 June 2021
June 4, 2021

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – 128 thousand doses of Moderna are
scheduled to arrive today in Romania. Since December, 2020, over 4.3 million
people have taken the anti-COVID-19 vaccine, most of whom with both doses. The
number of infections remains low. On Friday, 225 new cases of infection were
reported, in addition to 113 fatalities. 341 people are still in intensive
care. The European green certificate will officially be launched starting July
1 at European level, and Romania is on schedule with implementation
proceedings, Andrei Baciu, Secretary of State with the Health Ministry, has
said. The certificate attests that a person is vaccinated with the anti-COVID
vaccine, that he/she had the disease, confirmed by a recent PCR test, or that
he/she does not have the virus, also confirmed by a PCR test.

VISIT – Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, on Tuesday will receive his
Israeli counterpart, Reuven Rivlin, who will pay an official visit to Romania.
According to a report made public on Friday by the presidency, the visit confirms
the high level of bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The two
presidents last met on the sidelines of the 2020 World Holocaust Forum hosted
by Jerusalem in January last year and talked on the phone in March and June,
2020. The meeting’s agenda will focus on economic cooperation and efforts to
combat the COVID-19 pandemic, Holocaust education and other measures to combat
anti-Semitism in Romania, as well as cultural exchanges between the two states.
High on the agenda are also the developments in the Middle East.

PNRR – Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR),
submitted to Brussels this week, provides for an increase of low pensions and
the recalculation of all pensions, Minister for Investments and European
Projects, Cristian Ghinea has said. The Romanian official told the public radio
that pensions will not be slashed, whereas the retirement age and taxes will
not go up. According to Minister Ghinea, the EU will disburse funds to member
states provided national governments undertake reforms to correct imbalances.
Education, healthcare, transport and infrastructure, digitization and the
reform of public administration are the main fields in which Romania has
pledged to invest the nearly €30 billion earmarked by the European Commission. Under
the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, Romania plans to implement reforms of
its fiscal and pension systems. Romania’s plan provides measures in the fields
of sustainable transport, education, medical assistance, the renovation of
buildings and the digitization of public administration. All projects must be
finalized by 2026.

CANNES -
Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu will be presiding the jury of the section Semaine de la Critique at the
International Film Festival in Cannes, to be held over July 6-17. In 2002,
Cristian Mungiu presented his debut feature in Cannes, West in the Quinzaine
de Realisateurs. In 2007 he scooped the Palme
d’Or for his feature, 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days and grabbed the award for
best scenario for his feature Beyond the Hills in 2012. In 2016 he won the
award for best director for Baccalaureate. A screen writer and producer, he
was also jury president in the Cinefondation
and Short Films section in 2017. The feature film, La Civil, is a
Romanian-Belgian-Mexican co-production directed by Teodora Ana Mihai and
co-produced by Cristian Mungiu, and has been selected in the Un Certain Regard section. The film
tells the story of a mother whose daughter is kidnapped and who decides to take
action in order to save her, after the Mexican authorities refuse to help.

EXHIBITION – India’s Ambassador in Romania, Rahul Shrivastava, will attend the
opening of the Indian photo art exhibition, organized by the Euro Foto Art
International Association (AIEFA). Titled LensVision, the exhibition
comprises 72 black-and-white and color photos of high artistic value, taken
by the president of the Bengal Photography Institute in Calcutta, Sanjoy
Bhattacharya and 36 of his students. The event is held under the patronage of
the International Photo Art Federation and the Indian Embassy in Romania. The
official opening will be held at the Euro Foto Art Gallery in Oradea on Friday,
June 4, and can be visited until July 6.

EURO 2020
– Romanian Minister for Youth and Sports, Eduard Novak, said matches Bucharest
will host as part of EURO 2020 will be played with the physical attendance of
fans up to 25% of the capacity of National Arena Stadium in Bucharest. For the
match counting towards the round of 16, the capacity will be increased to 50%.
The decision falls in line with UEFA recommendations regarding security plans.
Bucharest will be hosting three matches in Group C: Austria vs. North
Macedonia, Ukraine vs. North Macedonia and Ukraine vs. Austria, as well as one
match in the round of 16. Originally scheduled for 2020, the competition was
postponed for 2021 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. EURO 2020
celebrates 60 years since the organization of the first European Championship
and will take place over June 11 – July 11 in 11 European cities.

TENNIS -
Two Romanian tennis players are today competing in the women’s singles in the
third round at Roland Garros. Sorana Cîrstea will play Daria Kasatkina of Russia, while Ana Bogdan will take on
Paula Badosa Gibert of Spain. Also today, in the men’s doubles, Horia Tecău of Romania and Kevin Krawietz
of Germany are playing Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan and Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan.
Yesterday, in the women’s doubles, Irina Begu of Romania and Nadia Podoroska of
Argentina qualified to the second round after defeating Estelle Cascino and
Jessika Ponchet of France, 6-3, 6-1. Also yesterday, Monica Niculescu of
Romania and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated 6-0, 6-3 the pair made up of
Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine. (VP)

4 June 2021
June 3, 2021 UPDATE

GREEN
CERTIFICATE – The green vaccination certificate will be launched on July 1
at European level, and Romania is currently on schedule with the procedures for
the document to be available starting with this date, announced on Thursday
Andrei Baciu, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Health. The authorities
will launch a secure online platform, where the certificate can be downloaded.
Authenticity will be guaranteed by a QR code, which can be scanned at customs,
and it can be presented both on paper and on the phone. The certificate attests
either the fact that a person was vaccinated against COVID, the fact that they
had the disease, through a not very old positive PCR test, or the absence of
infection at that time, proven by a negative PCR test. The vaccination of
children aged 12 to 15 has also begun, after the European Medicines Agency
authorized the serum for this age group. As of December 27, 2020, almost eight
million doses of Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines
have been administered in Romania throughout the country. More than 4.3 million
people have been immunized, most of them with both doses. The number of new
cases of COVID-19 remains low. All Romanian counties are in the green zone, the
aggregate incidence rate in 14 days being below one case per thousand
inhabitants. On Thursday, 196 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 were reported in more
than 31,770 tests. 365 people are in intensive care. Several measures to ease
the restrictions came into force on June 1.

EUROBAROMETER
– Three quarters of Romanians (76%) believe that the COVID-19 pandemic has had
or will have an impact on their personal financial situation, while the EU
average is 57%, according to the latest Eurobarometer commissioned by the
European Parliament and presented on Thursday. The opinion poll, conducted in
March-April, shows the growing impact of the pandemic on the personal lives and
financial situation of citizens. According to the Eurobarometer, despite the
financial impact of the pandemic, most respondents (58% in the EU and 45% in
Romania, respectively) believe that the health benefits of restrictions in
their country outweigh the negative economic effects they may have caused. The
opinion is present in most EU countries and suggests a change of attitude as
compared to the second half of 2020, when a small majority of citizens
considered the economic effects to be more important. Almost half of the
citizens (48% in the EU, 41% in Romania) know about the measures taken by
Brussels to fight the pandemic, but only 48% of the EU citizens, respectively
52% in Romania, say they are satisfied with them.

GOVERNMENT – Child benefits won’t be
increased this year, and the new pension law is due to take effect in 2023,
Romania’s Prime Minister Florin Cîţu said on Thursday at the end of the weekly government session.
The new law will focus on increasing small pensions and will provide for a
gradual increase of the retirement age for women, which is presently lower than
for men. The Government also adopted a strategic document for digital
governance and the e-management of public services at the level of the
administration. The Prime Minister said all ministries and government agencies
will be connected to a single network, a common database available on cloud,
which will also include projects under the national recovery and resilience
plan. In other news, the Government decided that restaurants can stay open
until 2 AM when hosting private parties.

WRITEOFF
– Liability for crimes of slavery, human trafficking, sexual abuse or torture
of minors will no longer be written off in Romania, after MPs on Thursday
adopted a draft law that brings amendments to articles in the Criminal Code
regulating these crimes. Related sentences will also be increased. People who
learn about such crimes against minors and fail to notify the authorities risk
a maximum prison sentence of two years. The law also stipulates an increase in
the sentences for child pornography reoffenders.

TENNIS -
The pair made up of Irina Begu of Romania and Nadia Podoroska of Argentina on
Thursday advanced to the second round in the women’s doubles at Roland Garros
after defeating Estelle Cascino and Jessika Ponchet of France, 6-3, 6-1. Another
pair, made up of Monica Niculescu of Romania and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia,
defeated 6-0, 6-3 the pair made up of Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus and
Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine. Mihaela
Buzărnescu and Patricia Ţig were ousted by Lara Arruabarrena of Spain and
Caroline Dolehide of the United States. In the women’s singles, Romania has two
representatives left, Ana Bogdan and Sorana Cîrstea, both qualified in
the third round. Cîrstea on Friday will play Daria Kasatkina of Russia, while
Bogdan will go up against Paula
Badosa Gibert of Spain. In men’s doubles, the pair made up of Horia Tecău of Romania and Kevin Krawietz
of Germany will play Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan and Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan. (MI
& VP)

3 June 2021
June 2, 2021

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – Starting today children aged 12-15 can get immunized
against COVID-19 after the European Medicines Agency has authorized the Pfizer
BioNTech vaccine as safe for being administered to children in this age bracket.
The online platform will allow parents, legal guardians or next of kin to
enroll children. Starting December, 2020, nearly 8 million doses of vaccine
have been administered to over 4.3 million people. Most people have taken both
anti-COVID shots. In recent days, the number of COVID infections has gone down.
All counties remain in the green zone, where the incidence rate remains below 1
per thousand inhabitants. On Tuesday, several relaxation measures took effect.
Outdoor events now allow for a larger number of participants. Indoor pools and
playgrounds have also reopened. On Wednesday, 164 new cases of COVID-19 were
reported in the last 24 hours by the Group for Strategic Communication, in
addition to 26 related fatalities. 391 patients are currently in intensive
care.

DEBATE – Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, is
today attending an online conference of the European People’s Party (EPP) in
the European Parliament titled Let’s talk about the future of Europe.
According to the Presidency, the head of state will present Romania’s vision
about the future of the European Union and highlight the fact that our country
will actively contribute to identifying priorities and joint solutions with a
view to meeting European citizens’ expectations. Attending the debate will be
EPP president, Manfred Weber and Romanian MEP, Siegfried Mureşan.

PNRR – Romania’s Prime Minister, Florin Cîţu, is presenting
Romania’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), submitted to the European
Commission on Monday. Joining the Prime Minister will be deputy prime ministers Dan Barna and Kelemen Hunor and Minister for Investments and European Funds,
Cristian Ghinea. In a press release, the European Commission writes Romania has
applied for €14.3 billion in grants and €15 billion in loans under the Recovery
and Resilience Mechanism. The Plan also provides for measures in the fields of
sustainable development, education, healthcare, the renovation of buildings and
the digitization of public administration. The Commission will review Romania’s
plan based on specific criteria, one of which stipulates that 37% of spending
should be devoted to investments and reforms supporting climate change and 20%
for digital transition.

NATO – Romania’s Defense Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, pointed out
on the sidelines of the meeting of NATO Defense Ministers, the importance of
consolidating NATO’s presence on the eastern flank and reiterated Romania’s
commitment to allotting 2% of the country’s GDP to defense spending. NATO
Ministers prepared the NATO summit of June 14 and discussed a series of topics
such as the developments in Afghanistan, Belarus, Russia or China, but also the
need to adapt to the era of growing global competitiveness. In this context,
NATO ministers tackled the NATO 2030 agenda regarding the adaptation of NATO to
future challenges. We are presented with a number of challenges to our
security that we need to tackle together, because no country and no continent
can deal with them alone, NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, has said.

COVID CERTIFICATES – Seven EU member States (Bulgaria, the
Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Croatia and Poland) – have connected to the
gateway verifying COVID and started issuing first EU digital COVID certificates
and have already started issuing the first certificates, the European
Commission writes. The Commission proposed the introduced of the certificate in
order to resume free travel over the summer in full safety. The certificate is
free, secure and available to all citizens in digital or printed format. The
certificate provides evidence a person has taken the anti-COVID-19 vaccine, has
a negative test result for COVID-19 or has had the disease. 22 countries have
already successfully tested the gateway. While the Regulation will be applied
from July 1, all Member States, which have passed the technical tests and are
ready to issue and verify certificates, can now start using the system on a
voluntary basis.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Mihaela Buzărnescu is today playing Serena Williams of the United
States in the second round at Roland Garros. Also today, another Romanian,
Sorana Cîrstea, will take on Martina Trevisan of Italy. On Tuesday, the
Romanian-German pair, Horica Tecău/Kevin Krawietz
advanced to the second round in the men’s doubles after ousting Ariel Behar
(Uruguay)/Gonzalo Escobar (Ecuador). In the women’s singles, Ana Bogdan was
awarded a walkover win after her oponent in the second round, Japan’s Naomi
Osaka, withdrew from the competition. Simona Halep, world no. 3 and the winner
of the French Open in 2018, did not take part due to an injury. (VP)

2 June 2021