August 7-13

A roundup of the week's main stories

Roxana Vasile, 12.08.2017, 11:42

A new vaccination law is due to come into force in Romania as of January 1st 2018

The Government of Romania has this week passed a bill on organising and funding vaccination. Under the new law, child immunisation will be mandatory in Romania, in keeping with the national vaccination programme. Also, the entire population or target groups will have to be immunized in case certain epidemics break out. The parents or legal guardians are responsible for taking the children for vaccination, but they can opt out under a written notification. Against this background, the Health Minister Florian Bodog has announced that this past month 67,000 children have been vaccinated, and around 43,000 could not be found at home, but the teams in charge will try to reach them again. The vaccination refusal rate stood at 12%.

The bill also provides for the set-up of a technical vaccination coordination group within the Healthcare Ministry, which is also to draw up a national strategy in this respect. Also, vaccination commissions will be established in each county and in Bucharest, to monitor the process, and a reserve stock of vaccine shots will also be available for emergency situations. The bill will be submitted to Parliament for debate and endorsement, to then come into force on January 1st, 2018. This law has become a necessity, given that Romania is facing the worst measles epidemic of the past few years. More than 30 people have died since September, when the epidemic broke out, and several thousand cases have been reported so far. There are many people who refuse vaccination, due to fears concerning possible side-effects on children. Acting as a public service institution, Radio Romania has joined in the efforts to inform parents on the benefits of vaccination and has conducted a campaign warning against the dangers facing the children whose parents refuse immunisation.

The Romanian Government plans to raise fuel taxes

Within a month, fuel prices in Romania are very likely to go up again, under a new decision amending the Fiscal Code, currently under public debate. The Romanian Finance Ministry intends to increase by 20% excise duties on diesel and petrol as of September 1st, which would push prices up to the level reported in late 2016, when they included an extra duty. Authorities have justified the measure with the fact that budget revenues in this category have dropped, and fuel prices in Romania are among the lowest in the European Union. In Romania there are some 27,000 carriers who are extremely unhappy with the Government’s plans, and say that the increase in fuel taxes would have the opposite effect, lowering instead of raising budget revenues. They have warned that around 70% of the current fuel purchases by international carriers in Romania might get shifted to other countries, which would have a disastrous impact on the state budget.

On August 6th, Romania commemorated 100 years since its most important military operation in WWI

On August 6th, Romania commemorated 100 years since the battle of Marasesti, considered the most important Romanian military operation carried out in WWI. Military and religious events were held all across the country to recall those days and honour the war heroes. Top level officials participated in an impressive ceremony held at the Marasesti Mausoleum. One of the most imposing monuments in Romania, the Mausoleum was inaugurated on September 13, 1939, on the field where, in the summer of 1917, the Romanian Army faced a much better equipped German army. 480 officers and more than 21,000 soldiers died back then.

Extreme heat and thunderstorms have hit Romania lately

After just one day of normal temperatures for this time of the year, another heat wave has engulfed Romania starting Wednesday, with some hopes for rain only on Sunday. The new wave has followed another one, which hit Romania last week, when meteorologists issued yellow, orange and red code alerts for heat, and warned that the temperature-humidity comfort index exceeded the critical threshold of 80 units. In some parts of the country, the highs reached as much as 40-41 degrees Celsius. Because of the extreme temperatures, several people died and hundreds needed medical care. Road and railway restrictions were imposed in order to prevent accidents.