January 12, 2022

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 12.01.2022, 13:55

Covid-19. Romania reported today
8,600 new Covid cases and 44 deaths. The incidence rate is on the rise around
the country, including the capital Bucharest, where it passed 3 cases per 1,000
inhabitants, the city now being in the red tier. This means that restaurants,
cinemas, gyms and other venues can open at 30% capacity. Also, schools where
the vaccine uptake among staff is under 60% will switch to online teaching. The
National Public Health Institute confirmed the sustained community transmission
of the Omicron variant, saying almost half of the cases did not have contact
with someone infected. In the meantime, preparations are being made for opening
outpatient Covid evaluation centres around the country.

Treatment. Governments from around
the world are rushing to purchase Paxlovid, the drug made by Pfizer to treat
coronavirus infection, after several countries, including France, cancelled
their contracts for Molnupiravir, made by Merck, over low efficacy in clinical
trials. The UK in December approved the treatment with Pfizer’s antiviral
medicine, while South Korea approved the emergency use of this drug. The
European Medicines Agency is evaluating both drugs but said both can be used to
treat adult patients without official recommendation. In another move, the
World Health Organisation said the current Covid vaccines may need to be
adjusted to make sure they are effective against Omicron and other variants.

Foreign policy. Romania
will continue to develop as an active, trusted, involved and respected member
of the EU and NATO. Romania’s approach is focused on continuity, based on the
three essential pillars of its foreign policy: consolidating the country’s role
and influence in the EU and NATO and developing and deepening the strategic
partnership with the US, said president Klaus Iohannis at a meeting with
foreign diplomats in Bucharest. Iohannis also said Romania is worried about the
security situation in Ukraine and its implications for Euro-Atlantic security
and added that Romania will continue to support the efforts of the Republic of
Moldova to join the European Union.

Statistics. The National Institute of
Statistics maintained at 0.4% its forecast with regard to the growth of the
Romanian economy in the third quarter of last year compared with the previous
quarter, but changes were made to the share of investments and consumption to
GDP growth. Also, in the third quarter, the net added value saw important
changes in the sectors of information and communications, constructions,
financial mediation and insurances and real estate transactions.

NATO-Russia. NATO and Russia are today holding talks in Brussels on the
security guarantees requested by Moscow. The latter wants firm guarantees that
NATO would not expand eastwards and that it would limit its activities in the
east-European states that joined the Alliance after the end of the cold war.
Russia massed troops near the border with Ukraine and asked NATO not to accept
this former Soviet republic as a member. Washington said it cannot agree to
these demands. US ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith said neither NATO, nor any
NATO member state is considering Russia’s request to halt NATO’s expansion.
Russia and the United States had a first round of talks on this subject on
Monday in Geneva, but no concrete agreement was reached.

Schengen. Paris will make every efforts to contribute to the expansion
of the Schengen area, said the French ambassador to Bucharest Laurence Auer at
an event to launch France’s presidency of the European Union Council. The
French diplomat explained for Radio Romania that from the point of view of the
French presidency, the expansion and consolidation of the Schengen area must be
discussed simultaneously and that Romania passed all technical tests and is
ready to join the passport free area. The representative of the European
Commission Representation in Romania Ramona Chiriac, who also attended the
event, said the Commission supports Schengen’s expansion to include Romania,
which meets all conditions, but is yet to be a member.

Film. Man and Dog, the first feature
film directed by Ştefan Constantinescu will have its opening at the 45th
Gothenburg Film Festival, which will be held between the 28th
January and 6th February. A co-production between Romania, Bulgaria,
Sweden and Germany, Man and Dog is a love story in exile in the guise of a film
noir that blends absurd humour with darker feelings of alienation and impending
doom. The Gothenburg festival brings together hundreds of films and thousands of
professionals from around the world. This year, organisers are planning to hold
it the event in-person, after an exclusively online edition last year.

Tennis. The Romanian tennis player Jaqueline Cristian today lost in
straight sets, 1-6, 5-7, to world no. 4 and French Open champion Barbora
Krejcikova of the Czech Republic in the round of last 16 of the Sydney tournament.
Another Romanian player, Gabriela Ruse lost today in the same round to world
no. 7 Anett Kontaveit of Estonia. The Sydney tournament is a WTA 500 event and
is worth over 700,000 dollars in prize money. The next big event in world
tennis is the Australian Open, which is held between the 17th and
the 30th of January. (CM)