November 24, 2020 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 24.11.2020, 20:00
COVID-19
IN ROMANIA Romania’s anti-COVID-19 vaccination strategy
has been finalised and will be endorsed by the Supreme Defence Council in the
forthcoming period, President Klaus Iohannis announced. He added, after
a meeting with healthcare experts, that an action plan has been put together
and all official information concerning the vaccination campaign will be posted
on a separate website. Over 7,750 new COVID-19 cases and 196 related deaths
have been reported over the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to over
10,370. Since the start of the pandemic, at least 430,000 people have tested positive
for the virus, more than two-thirds of whom have so far recovered. Over 1,200
patients are currently in intensive care.
COVID-19 IN
THE WORLD – The WHO has hailed the announcement regarding a 3rd
anti-COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Oxford University jointly with AstraZeneca.
The British researchers say the vaccine is at least 70% efficient, but that,
depending on the treatment scheme, the protection rate can reach as high as
90%. Pfizer jointly with BioNTech and Moderna had previously announced efficiency
rates of over 90% and of 95% respectively for their vaccines. On Wednesday, the
European Commission will sign an agreement with Moderna for the purchase of 160
million dozes of their vaccine, Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has
said. So far over 59 million people have tested positive for Sars-Cov-2
worldwide, with the global death toll exceeding 1.4 million. The situation in
France is showing signs of improvement, the effects of the quarantine imposed
in late October. In London, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new system
of restrictions, based on three levels, which will take effect with the end of
the national quarantine on December 3. The British Prime Minister is also
planning to ease some restrictions for the winter holidays.
CONFERENCE – Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu on Tuesday took part in the Afghanistan 2020 online videoconference, co-hosted by Finland, the United Nations and the Afghan Government over November 23-24. The conference was held at a major turning point in the history of this country. On September 12 negotiations kicked off in Afghanistan with a view to reaching political spectrum-wide consensus on durable peace. Minister Aurescu highlighted Romania’s important contribution to efforts at stabilizing Afghanistan, including by taking part in the NATO Resolute Support mission. Bogdan Aurescu also referred to Romania’s constant support to the Afghan education sector, which includes scholarships granted to Afghan citizens. The Romanian official said Bucharest will be making a €50,000 contribution to UNICEF to help implement youth and education projects in Afghanistan.
SMEs – The European Commission on Tuesday passed
Romania’s national financial aid scheme worth €216 million aimed at supporting
SMEs affected by the coronavirus pandemic. According to a Commission press
release, the scheme was adopted as part of the temporary framework for state
support measures. Its aim is to help SMEs cope with the liquidity shortages
they face due to the coronavirus pandemic and provide them with a wide array of
financing channels.
HANDBALL
– Romania’s women’s handball team are preparing for the European Championship
hosted by Denmark between December 3 and 20. Romania is playing in Group D in
the final tournament, alongside Norway, Germany and Poland, with the games
taking place in the town of Kolding. Denmark is the sole host of the tournament
after the second designated host, neighboring Norway, pulled out. On November
16, only 17 days before the first game was due, Oslo announced that healthcare
constraints related to the COVID-19 pandemic prevent it from organizing the
competition. (A.M. Popescu & V. Palcu)
