December 26, 2020 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 26.12.2020, 20:00

VACCINE – The development,
distribution and administration of the anti-COVID-19 vaccine in record time
will help limit and eradicate the pandemic as quickly as possible, Romania’s
Prime Minister, Florin Cîţu said on Saturday. The first doses of anti-COVID-19
vaccine arrived in Romania on Friday, and on Saturday they were delivered to
the military and medical institute in Bucharest, which will serve as a national
center for stockpiling the vaccine. The head of the national vaccination
campaign, the military doctor Valeriu Gheorghiţă, said there are currently few
reasons advising against taking the vaccine, adding that communication and
information will help everyone take the best decision for himself, his family
and community as a whole. The first vaccines will be administered on Sunday to
the medical workers in infectious disease hospitals. The first stage in the
vaccination campaign will be finalized in January. In the second phase, people
in at-risk categories and workers in key areas will be vaccinated, while
vaccination for the bulk of the population is due to start in April. To ensure
its efficiency, some 60 to 70% of the country’s population needs to take the
vaccine. Right now, the acceptance rate for the COVID-19 vaccine stands at some
40%. In hospitals, the acceptance rate is 90% in COVID wards.

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – Over 614 thousand
infections with SARS-CoV-2 have been reported in Romania so far, some 1,400 new
cases having been reported on Saturday. Most new cases were signaled in
Bucharest. Another 85 COVID-related deaths have also been reported, taking the
national death toll to some 15,000. 1,210 people are currently in intensive
care. Nearly 85% of people who got infected have recovered.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – Over 80 million
people have got infected with COVID-19 since the start of the outbreak,
accounting for 1% of the world’s population, the World Health Organization
reports. On Christmas Day, over 655 thousand new infections were reported. The
global death toll is closing in on 1.8 million. Most infections are reported in
the United States, Europe and South Asia.

CELEBRATION – On December 26, on
the second day of Christmas, Romanian Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Christians celebrated
the Synaxis of the Most Holy Mother of God, a Christian holiday honoring Mary,
mother of Jesus Christ. Roman-Catholics in Romania celebrated Saint Stephen,
the first Christian martyr, who in the Eastern-Catholic and Orthodox Churches
is celebrated on December 27.

POPE FRANCIS – Due to the threat
of the coronavirus, Pope Francis on Saturday delivered the Angelus traditional
prayer via videolink from the library of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. In
his prayer, Pope Francis underlined the importance of forgiveness and prayed
for Christians who are being persecuted for their faith. Italy is in lockdown
during the Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. Due to the restrictions in
place, the Christian faithful could not gather in St. Peter’s square to attend
the traditional mass, which has been moved to the Apostolic Palace. On Friday,
observing the recently adopted restrictions, Pope Francis gave his Urbi et Orbi
blessing during an online transmission broadcast from the Apostolic Palace in
the Vatican. The Pope spoke of the fraternity of the world’s nations, urging
them to share the vaccines developed to combat the COVID-19 virus. (V. Palcu)