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COVID-19 IN ROMANIA <\/strong>–<\/strong> Starting
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COVID-19 IN THE WORLD <\/strong>–<\/strong>Worldwide the number of cases of
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BUDGET <\/strong>–<\/strong> The
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SUMMIT <\/strong>–<\/strong>The EU heads of state and government,
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POSEIDON 21<\/strong> – Some 700 soldiers, 13 military
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FORD<\/strong> – Due to the problems related to
<\/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":[35374,29375,30387,36063,29000,32305,36067],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-104939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-covid-19","tag-eu-summit","tag-ford","tag-poseidon-21","tag-president-klaus-iohannis","tag-vaccination-campaign","tag-vaccination-certificates"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\non Friday, the incidence rate of infections with the new coronavirus in Romania
\nwill be calculated according to different rules, in the sense that outbreaks
\nwill be introduced in the final analysis. Authorities say that the new rules
\nare in line with the international standards and other countries are doing the
\nsame. According to the head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed
\nArafat, a slight increase in the incidence of COVID-19 cases is expected as a
\nresult of the new approach. The new outbreaks that will be introduced in the
\ncalculation of COVID-19 cases are reported mainly in hospitals and care
\ncenters. In another development, some 3,700 new cases of people infected with
\nSARS-CoV-2 were reported within 24 hours after performing about 36 thousand
\ntests nationwide. In total, since the onset of the pandemic in Romania, almost
\n795 thousand cases have been registered. 90% of the Covid-19 patients have been
\ncured. The total number of deaths has exceeded 20,200. Friday marked one year
\nsince the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Romania. The first death from
\ncoronavirus was officially reported in the country on March 22 last year.<\/p>\n
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\nSars-Cov -2 infection has exceeded 113 million, and that of deaths 2.5 million.
\nAccording to worldometers.info, more than 89 million infected people have been
\ncured. Meanwhile, European countries have opted for voluntary vaccination
\nagainst Covid-19, although some of them, such as France, the United Kingdom or
\nHungary, are examining potential certificates or passports to prove
\nit, international news agencies report. In Germany, coronavirus vaccination is
\nvoluntary and the government has stressed that there are no plans to make it
\nmandatory. Vaccination is not mandatory in France either. However, the
\ngovernment has launched an online consultation to find out citizens’ views on
\nthe possibility of implementing a vaccination certificate and whether it should
\nbe mandatory or optional. In the United Kingdom, which was the first country in
\nthe world to launch a mass vaccination program against Covid-19, immunization
\nis widely accepted by the population. The vaccination plan in Italy is also
\nvoluntary and started with the highest risk groups. For its part, the Austrian
\nGovernment insists that vaccination is and will be voluntary and that it has
\nnot yet been decided, for example, whether it can be a condition for carrying
\nout an activity. The World Health Organization insists that the cure for the
\npandemic is to speed up immunization, and the available vaccines promise an
\neffectiveness of about 90%. In another development, the European Medicines
\nAgency on Friday announced the antibody cocktail development by Regeneron can
\nbe used in treating COVID patients. The United States adopted the product last
\nyear for emergencies, President Donald Trump being one of the patients treated
\nwith Regeneron. <\/p>\n
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\nRomanian Parliament’s budget-finance committees continued, on Friday, the
\ndebates on the 2021 budget bill. The budgets of the main ministries have been
\nvoted in the form proposed by the Government. None of the amendments tabled by
\nthe opposition has been adopted. According to the calendar established by the
\njoint Permanent Bureaus, the joint sitting of the Chamber of Deputies and the
\nSenate on the state and social security budgets is scheduled for Monday. The
\nbill will get the final vote on Tuesday. The budget is based on a deficit
\ntarget of 7.16% of the GDP, and an economic growth rate of 4.31%. <\/p>\n
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\nincluding the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, on Friday attended a
\nvirtual summit on security and defense. Referring to vaccination certificates,
\nPresident Iohannis said they can be used for medical purposes. EU leaders have
\ncalled for coordinated action to combat COVID-19 in Europe, but couldn’t solve
\ntheir disagreements over a possible vaccination passport. The Romanian
\npresident hailed the European Commission’s efforts to deal with the pandemic,
\nboth in terms of purchasing and distributing vaccines, as well as ensuring the
\nfunctioning of the single market. On the other hand, participants have
\nreiterated the EU’s firm commitment to cooperate closely with NATO and
\nstrengthen partnerships with the UN and key regional partners. President
\nIohannis pointed out Romania supports the implementation of the Union’s
\ninitiatives in the field of healthcare and defense, at the same time ensuring
\ncomplementarity with NATO, which remains the foundation of collective defense
\nfor allied states. Klaus Iohannis expressed his firm support for consolidating
\npolitical dialogue and for development the strategic partnership between the EU
\nand NATO, arguing the trans-Atlantic ties are key to EU security. <\/p>\n
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\nships, 9 aircraft, a pyrotechnic intervention vehicle and a remote-controlled
\nunderwater robot will be deployed during the exercise ‘Poseidon 21’ organized
\nby the Romanian Naval Forces between February 26 and March 6. It is the first
\nmultinational exercise in the Black Sea this year, and involves the
\nparticipation of forces and equipment from Bulgaria, France, Greece, Romania,
\nSpain, USA and Turkey. ‘Poseidon 21’ is an exercise with a high degree of
\ncomplexity, included in the NATO Training Program proposed by Romania at the
\nNATO Summit in Warsaw, in 2016, to strengthen security measures on the European
\nsouth-eastern flank, as well as to ensure a continuous presence in the Black
\nSea region.<\/p>\n
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\nthe supply of semiconductors that affect a large part of the world car
\nindustry, the Ford factory in Craiova (southwestern Romania) has suspended for
\neight days the production of vehicles and engines. Production would resume on
\nMarch 10. The factory representatives have state that, in the eight days off
\nwork, the employees will be paid according to the agreements concluded between
\nthe company and the unions and taking into account the legislation in force.
\nThis month, the Dacia factory, owned by the French group Renault, also stopped
\nproduction for five days in Mioveni (southern Romania). The crisis in the
\nautomotive industry is expected to last a few more months and could lead to a
\nworld production of over a million smaller cars this year. (M.I. & V.P.)<\/p>\n