March 14, 2021 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 14.03.2021, 20:00

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – Prime Minister
Florin Cîţu on Sunday called for identifying new hospitals to join the fight
against COVID-19, by increasing the number of ICU beds to 1,600 and ensuring
the necessary supply of medicines and continuing vaccination. In a post on
Facebook, Florin Cîţu said he attended a meeting of the National Center for the
Management and Coordination of Interventions, to make sure patients and health
workers have everything they need to get through the third wave of the
pandemic. The Prime Minister said that, for the time being, Romania isn’t
reporting an alarming increase of the infection rate, but advised cautionary
preparations for a possible increase in the number of cases. 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 Schools 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 80 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.

PARLIAMENT – The
Social-Democratic Party next week will file a no-confidence motion against
Economy Minister, Claudiu Năsui. Social-Democrats claim the minister adopted no
measures to support entrepreneurs, while insisting on selling stocks of
profitable state-owned companies. Minister Năsui says the motion was prompted
by the publication of contracts signed by the Ministry, and that disclosures
would continue. Parliament must also set a date on voting the EU’s system of
own funds. To pass the decision needs a third of the votes, and for the time
being the power and the opposition haven’t reached an agreement. The Social-Democratic
Party wants a debate in Parliament on the measures stipulated in the national
recovery and resilience plan.

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.

FILM – The American Film
Academy on March 15 will announce the Oscar nominations for 2021. The film colectiv
directed by Alexandru Nanau is Romania’s proposal, selected in the best international
feature and best documentary sections. colectiv last month was shortlisted
for the 2021 Oscars. The film is also nominated for the 2021 BAFTA Awards in
the Best documentary section. The film tells the story of the first year after
the devastating fire at Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest of October 30, 2015,
which killed 64 people. (V.P.)