May 5, 2021 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 05.05.2021, 20:00
CORONAVIRUS – More than 94 thousand people have received the anti-Covid vaccine in the last 24 hours in Romania, authorities have announced. Almost 2.1 million people across the country have received both vaccine doses since the start of the mass immunization. The authorities have taken additional measure in order to reach their target of 5 million people vaccinated by June 1st. Thus, marathons, drive-through vaccination centers, vaccination at the workplace, at general practitioners facilities and in non-Covid hospitals are now available for all people willing to get the jab. No previous appointment for vaccination will be required as of Friday. On Wednesday, another 1,564 new infections were reported, out of around 37 thousand tests. In another development, the Bucharest Government has decided to donate one hundred thousand doses of Astra Zeneca vaccine to the Republic of Moldova, to help it cope with the coronavirus pandemic.
VACCINE – Canada approved on Wednesday the use of Pfizer/BioNTechs Covid-19 vaccine in adolescents aged 12 to 15, being the first country to approve the vaccine for this age group. Health Canada said in a communique that the vaccine is safe and effective, after having made a throrogh and independent scientific analysis of the available data. Since the onset of the pandemic in Canada, around 20% of the infections in this country have been reported in people aged below 19. Pfizer/BioNTech requested regulatory agencies in the United States and the European Union to expand the use of their Covid-19 vaccine to adolescents aged 12 to 15.
GOVERNMENT – The Romanian Government has approved the Convergence Programme that includes reforms the government pledged to make in various fields, among which the pensions system, the wage system and local administration. PM Florin Citu said that he discussed in Wednesdays meeting with the cabinet members about the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, asking them to get directly involved in its quick completion. The plan includes projects worth up to 29 billion euros to be presented to the European Commission and must be put in line with Brussels recent recommendations.
ANTI CORRUPTION – The Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body, concluded in a report published on Wednesday that Romania’s level of compliance with its anti-corruption recommendations in respect of parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors is still globally unsatisfactory. The report says that Romania only fully implemented five of GRECO’s 18 recommendations following an evaluation from 2015 and an ad-hoc evaluation procedure launched in 2017 on aspects related to judicial reform. The report does welcome the further consolidation of the supervisory role of the Superior Council of Magistracy and the judicial inspectorate and the carrying out of awareness-raising initiatives to strengthen judicial integrity and providing more uniform and swift disciplinary procedures in the judicial system.
DEFENSE – Some 15,000 military, including 10,000 Romanian and 5,000 from 17 allied and partner nations, are taking part in the most complex training operation held since the start of the pandemic, namely a series of exercises known as Dacia 21 Livex, led by the Joint Forces Command of the Romanian Defence Staff. The participating countries include France, Germany, Italy, the UK, the Republic of Moldova, Spain, the US, Turkey and Hungary. The drills are aimed at consolidating national and allied defence and deterrence posture.
VOLLEYBALL – Romania will play Albania in Nitra, in Slovakia, in their first match as part of the qualifying campaign for the 2021 Men’s European Volleyball Championship. The Romanians are in Group E together with Slovakia, Switzerland and Albania. Qualifying matches were initially due last summer, but they were first postponed and then grouped into two distinct tournaments. Romania will next play Slovakia on Friday and Switzerland on Saturday. The second qualifying round will be held next weekend in Ploieşti, Romania. The winners of the seven preliminary groups will qualify for the European Championships, as well as five of the second best-placed teams. The championship will be hosted by four countries, namely Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Finland and will take place between 1st and 9th September. (EE)
