October 12, 2021 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 12.10.2021, 20:00
CORONAVIRUS — Romanian authorities announced on Tuesday 16,743 new infections with Covid-19 in 24 hours and 442 related deaths. 1,667 patients are in intensive care. These figures are the highest ones since the onset of the pandemic. The head of the Mass Vaccination Campaign, Valeriu Gheorghita, said Tuesday that prevention programs are needed in Romania. He also said health education must start early, in school, so that vaccination is understood as a normal action that protects from diseases. Gheorghita also reminded that Romania received more than 20 million doses of anti-Covid vaccine.
INFLATION — The annual inflation rate in Romania went up to 6.3% in September, from 5.3% in August, the price of non-food products went up by 8.71%, that of food products by 4.26% and of services by 3.75%. According to data made public on Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics, consumption prices in September increased by 0.8% as compared to August. The National Bank of Romania (BNR) increased to 5.6% the inflation forecast for end-2021, according to a presentation made by its chief, Mugur Isarescu, in August. The BNR forecast for end-2022 is that the consumption price index will go down to 3.4%.
VACCINE — People immunized abroad with anti-Covid vaccines that are not recognized in Romania, such as Sinovac and Sinopharm, produced in China and Sputnik, produced in Russia, can be vaccinated upon demand in Romania, with vaccines licensed in the EU, as early as 30 days after their vaccination abroad, military doctor Valeriu Gheorghita, the head of the mass vaccination campaign in Romania, explained. He said the decision was taken following a number of requests in this respect, received form people immunized abroad with vaccines that are not licensed in Romania.
COMMEMORATION – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis will attend on Wednesday, at the invitation of the Swedish PM, Stefan Lofven, an international forum dedicated to the commemoration of the Holocaust and the fight against anti-Semitism, held in Malmo. According to the Presidential Administration in Bucharest, the participation of Klaus Iohannis in the forum is part of a series of steps taken by the Romanian state to consolidate education on the Holocaust, preserve its memory, fight anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia and to promote European values, tolerance and respect for the basic rights and liberties. On Saturday Iohannis signed a number of decoration decrees on the occasion of the Holocaust Remembrance Day.
TALKS – Romania’s Prime Minister designate, the USR leader, Dacian Ciolos, announced on Tuesday after phone conversations with leaders of the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) and with representatives of other national minorities, that they agreed to have a first round of talks on Wednesday, on rebuilding the ruling coalition. On Monday, the PNL said they would hold talks with the Prime Minister designate only after he had come up with the solution of a Parliament majority jointly with the Social Democrats (PSD) and AUR with which they had recently tabled a censure motion against the PNL-UDMR cabinet. We recall the USR had been part of the sacked government until September. After talks with parliamentary parties on Monday, the country’s president Klaus Iohannis designated Dacian Ciolos to form a majority that would support, in Parliament, the cabinet he is to propose. The new Prime Minister has been given 10 days to complete this task.
DIPLOMACY — The foreign ministers of Romania and Moldova, Bogdan Aurescu and Nicolae Popescu, respectively, reconfirmed on Tuesday in Bucharest the special relation, of strategic partnership, between the two countries. According to a communiqué of the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest, they analyzed the stage and perspectives of projects and files of bilateral strategic interest, including projects of interconnection in sectors like energy and transport infrastructure. The two officials hailed the recent completion of the works on the Iasi-Chisinau gas pipe and talked about interconnections in the energy sectors, projects that will allow Romania and the Republic of Moldova strengthen cooperation in the field of energy security, the communiqué also says.
TENNIS – The pair made up of Romanian tennis player Horia Tecau and German Kevin Krawietz has qualified for the quarter finals of the ATP Masters 1,000 in Indian Wells, California, after a 7-6, 7-6 win against Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey of the US. The Romanian-German pair will be taking on Tim Puetz of Germany and Michael Venus of New Zealand in the quarterfinals. (EE)
