March 14, 2021
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 14.03.2021, 13:49
COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – The state of alert
on Sunday was extended for another 30 days in Romania. The measures adopted by
the Government to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic took effect on Saturday
at midnight. All restrictions imposed so far remain in place, with the exception
of the nighttime curfew, which now begins at 10 PM and ends at 5 AM. Moreover, hotels
and guesthouses in mountain resorts can only function at 70% capacity. On the
other hand, the vaccination campaign continues, with another 50,000 people
immunized in the last 24 hours. On Monday, the campaign enters in its third
phase addressing the general population. Also on Monday people can register on
waiting lists on the online platform. On Sunday, some 4,400 new infections were
reported nationwide and another 44 related fatalities. Over 1,200 people are
currently in intensive care.
COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – Over 120 million confirmed
SARS-CoV-2 infections have been reported globally so far, as well as 2.6
million deaths, the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the United States
reports. Over 30 million infections and 546 thousand deaths have been reported
in the United States since the start of the pandemic. The second-most affected
country in the world is Brazil, with 11 million infections and 277 thousand
fatalities. In Europe, Great Britain has exceeded 125 thousand deaths, followed
by Italy with 102 thousand and France with over 90 thousand. The situation is
serious in the Republic of Moldova as well, where the Supreme Security Council and
President Maia Sandu recommended the Government to declare a state of emergency
amidst an alarming increase in the number of infections. In its latest report,
over 1,800 new infections were signaled in Moldova.
STATISTICS – The value of total
goods that transited Romanian ports totaled 47.22 million tons, down by 11.1%
as compared to 2019, the National Institute for Statistics reports. The ports
with the highest volume of trade in 2020 were Constanţa, with 83.5% of total
trade, Midia with 9.6% and Galaţi with 5.1%. Most goods were inbound and
outbound to Russia and Turkey. Of all the other EU member States, Spain and Greece
reported the highest volume of transported goods. The transport of goods via
domestic waterways stood at 30.5 million tons, accounting for a drop of 8.2%.
ENERGY – Romania’s Energy
Minister, Virgil Popescu, on Monday and Tuesday will discuss with EU officials plans
for restructuring the Oltenia Energy Company (southern Romania). In December,
the Minister Popescu officially notified the European Commission regarding
plans to restructure the Company, which include financial assistance from the
state. On February 5, the European Commission announced the launch of a
comprehensive investigation of the state funding allotted to restructure the
company. The Oltenia Energy Company needs the approval of the European Commission
by the end of April in order to receive the funds which will be used to pay carbon
gas emission certificates for 2020 penalty-free.
BORDER POLICE – The Romanian
Border Police in Arad County, western Romania, have picked up 14 citizens from
Afghanistan and Pakistan, trying to cross into Hungary hidden in three
freighter trucks, driven by two Turkish nationals and one Bulgarian. The border
police have launched an investigation and have taken all the necessary measures
in this case. (V.P.)
