FIRE – A fire broke out on Friday morning at the Matei
\nBal\u015f Institute for Infectious Disease in Romania, killing five patients.
\nSeveral wards burned down in the fire and heavy smoke spread throughout the
\nbuilding. 120 patients were evacuated and transferred to other medical units.
\nSo far the cause of the fire remains unknown, but prosecutors have launched a
\nmanslaughter investigation. Prime Minister Florin C\u00ee\u0163u has conveyed his
\ncondolences to the families of the victims and said all the measures are being
\ntaken to bring the situation under control. The Prime Minister’s Office inquiry
\nteam is already conducting its own investigation. Senate Speaker Anca Dragu
\nsaid the fire is a tragedy that cannot remain without consequence, adding that,
\nonce the cause of the fire is ascertained, swift actions are needed to right
\nthe wrongs in the healthcare sector. Social-Democrat leader Marcel Ciolacu said
\nhe felt shocked, heartbroken and appalled with the Government’s lack of action
\nto make sure the tragedy at Piatra Neam\u0163 must not happen again. We recall
\nanother fire broke out in November at an IC unit at the Piatra Neam\u0163 Emergency
\nCounty Hospital which killed 10 people.<\/p>\n
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COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – Romania’s national vaccination campaign is in full
\nswing, with over 534 thousand people immunized so far. Health Minister Vlad
\nVoiculescu has announced Romania is facing a shortage of vaccine doses. The
\nMinister also said certain centers, which immunized people from outside the
\neligible categories, are to face sanctions. 2,737 new infections were announced
\non Friday in addition to 91 COVID-related fatalities. Since the outbreak, over
\n724 thousand people have got infected in Romania and more than 18 thousand
\ndied. About one thousand people are currently being treated in IC units.<\/p>\n
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COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – The infection rate remains high on the continent,
\nputting pressure on medical systems, which is why a relaxation of restrictions
\nwould be premature, the WHO Director for Europe, Hans Kluge, has said. The WHO
\nofficial believes the high rates of infection and the emergence of new strains
\nof the coronavirus have stressed the need for urgently immunizing top-priority
\ncategories of people, but the rate of production and distribution of vaccines
\nhas fallen short of expectations, for the time being. The vaccination process
\nhas started in 35 European states, Director Kluge argues, and some 25 million
\nshots have already been administered. The UK is the first European country to
\nstart a national anti-COVID vaccination campaign. In other states, such as the
\nSeychelles, Iceland or Cyprus, authorities announced they would renounce
\ntesting and quarantine for travellers who present an international vaccine
\ncertificate. Over 102 million infections have been reported globally since the
\nstart of the epidemic and over 2.2 million people have died to the virus, the
\nlatest worldometers.info update reveals. <\/p>\n
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EPPO – The Romanian
\nJustice Ministry today is announcing the candidates it selected for the
\nposition of EPPO delegate prosecutor in Romania. The prosecutors will be
\nworking for the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in their home
\ncountries and will have the same responsibilities as national prosecutors in
\nterms of investigations, criminal actions and prosecution. The EPPO will also investigate
\nfraud and other crimes infringing on the EU’s financial interests. EPPO will
\nalso be investigating crimes with EU-wide effects or crimes perpetrated by
\ncivil servants or members of European institutions. We recall Romanian Laura Codru\u021ba Kovesi is the head of the European
\nPublic Prosecutor’s Office. <\/p>\n
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MOLDOVA – A Romanian delegation on Thursday discussed with
\nMoldovan authorities in Chi\u015fin\u0103u about technical and legal proceedings needed
\nto deliver the batch of anti-COVID-19 vaccine to Moldova. The batch totals
\n200,000 doses, in addition to medical and protection equipment required to
\ntreat the infected. The assistance package offered by Romania has been
\nannounced by President Klaus Iohannis during last month’s visit to the Republic
\nof Moldova. <\/p>\n
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NAVALNY – A Russian court has ruled against the appeal lodged
\nby Russian opposition leader, Alexey Navalny, who demanded his release from
\nprison. A vehement critic of President Vladimir Putin, Navalny took the
\nopportunity to warn the Kremlin, whom he accuses of attempting to assassinate
\nhim after poisoning him last year. The police has searched the apartments and
\noffices of people close to Navalny, detaining several people, including
\nNavalny’s brother and his associates. Alexey Navalny was arrested on January 17
\nat the airport shortly after his arrival from Germany, where he was
\nhospitalized and treated for Novichok poisoning. The Russian authorities have
\ndenied any involvement in his attempted assassination. The United States
\nrequested Navalny be released. (V. Palcu)<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":75903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[36024,35374,31801,29420,36022,36023,32305],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-104882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-alexey-navalny","tag-covid-19","tag-eppo","tag-fire","tag-matei-bals-institute-for-infectious-disease","tag-medical-assistance-to-moldova","tag-vaccination-campaign"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n