COVID-19 IN ROMANIA<\/b> – The vaccination
\ncampaign continues in Romania, a total of 1.5 million doses of vaccine having
\nbeen administered so far. Over 890 thousand people have received the vaccines
\ndeveloped by Pfizer \/ BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Moderna. Another 3.432 new COVID-19
\ninfections were reported on Saturday by the Group for Strategic Communication,
\ntaking the total number of infections close to 800 thousand. 90% of people
\ninfected with COVID-19 have recovered, while some 20,300 people have died. 1,000
\npeople are in intensive care. <\/p>\n
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COVID-19 IN THE WORLD –<\/strong>Worldwide
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COUNCIL <\/b>– EU heads of state
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BUDGET –<\/strong> The
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POSEIDON 21<\/strong> -
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PLAN <\/b>– The US House of
<\/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":[36070,36069,35374,28997,36063,36068],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-104940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-2021-state-and-social-security-bills","tag-american-rescue-plan","tag-covid-19","tag-european-council","tag-poseidon-21","tag-vaccination-passports"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nthe number of cases of Sars-Cov -2 infection has exceeded 113 million, and that
\nof deaths 2.5 million. According to worldometers.info, more than 89 million
\ninfected people have been cured. Meanwhile, European countries have opted for
\nvoluntary vaccination against Covid-19, although some of them, such as France,
\nthe United Kingdom or Hungary, are examining potential certificates or
\npassports to prove it, international news agencies report. In
\nGermany, coronavirus vaccination is voluntary and the government has stressed
\nthat there are no plans to make it mandatory. Vaccination is not mandatory in
\nFrance either. However, the government has launched an online consultation to
\nfind out citizens’ views on the possibility of implementing a vaccination
\ncertificate and whether it should be mandatory or optional. In the United
\nKingdom, which was the first country in the world to launch a mass vaccination
\nprogram against Covid-19, immunization is widely accepted by the population.
\nThe vaccination plan in Italy is also voluntary and started with the highest
\nrisk groups. For its part, the Austrian Government insists that vaccination is
\nand will be voluntary and that it has not yet been decided, for example,
\nwhether it can be a condition for carrying out an activity. The World Health
\nOrganization insists that the cure for the pandemic is to speed up
\nimmunization, and the available vaccines promise an effectiveness of about 90%.
\nIn another development, the European Medicines Agency announced the
\nantibody cocktail development by Regeneron can be used in treating COVID
\npatients. The United States adopted the product last year for emergencies,
\nPresident Donald Trump being one of the patients treated with Regeneron.<\/p>\n
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\nand government agreed to continue talks on the introduction of anti-COVID
\nvaccine passports, allowing for free circulation across the community bloc,
\nparticularly during summer. At the European Council virtual summit, they pleaded
\nfor a common approach. Member States relying on tourism, such as Cyprus and
\nGreece, have argued in favor of an accelerated adoption of vaccination
\npassports to save the summer season. After the videoconference, the Portuguese
\nPrime Minister expressed hope the European anti-COVID-19 vaccination
\ncertificate will be implemented by summer, while French President Emmanuel
\nMacron said such a document cannot grant special rights to people who’ve taken
\nthe vaccine. Representing Romania was President Klaus Iohannis, who’s called
\nfor a coordinated EU-wide approach, saying the vaccination certificate should
\nbe used for medical purposes only. President Iohannis has supported the quick
\nimplementation of the European mechanism for donating vaccines to third
\ncountries. <\/p>\n
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\nRomanian Parliament’s budget-finance committees on Saturday continue
\ndebates on the 2021 budget bill. Labor Minister Raluca Turcan and Minister for
\nInvestments and European Projects, Cristian Ghinea, will appear before senators
\nand deputies in the committees to discuss the budgets allotted to their
\nministries. On Friday, the budgets of agriculture, healthcare, education,
\neconomy and justice were approved, in addition to the budgets of public
\ninstitutions such as the radio and TV public broadcasters and the national
\nhealth insurance agency. Coalition leaders have agreed not to table any
\namendments, while the proposals proposed by the opposition have been rejected. According
\nto the calendar established by the joint Permanent Bureaus, the joint sitting
\nof the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate on the state and social security
\nbudgets is scheduled for Monday. The bill will get the final vote on Tuesday.
\nThe budget is based on a deficit target of 7.16% of the GDP, and an economic
\ngrowth rate of 4.31%.<\/p>\n
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\nSome 700 soldiers, 13 military ships, 9 aircraft, a pyrotechnic intervention
\nvehicle and a remote-controlled underwater robot will be deployed during the
\nexercise ‘Poseidon 21’ organized by the Romanian Naval Forces between February
\n26 and March 6. It is the first multinational exercise in the Black Sea this
\nyear, and involves the participation of forces and equipment from Bulgaria, France,
\nGreece, Romania, Spain, USA and Turkey. The NATO maritime command has
\nauthorized the participation of NATO permanent anti-mine naval forces. The
\nexercise will include training against underwater threats, involving
\nhydrographic mapping operations to identify and neutralize mines and IEDs,
\ncombat sequences to suppress air strikes, as well as towing damaged ships,
\nat-sea resupplying and rescue maneuvers. <\/p>\n
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\nRepresentatives on Saturday passed, with a majority of votes, the 1.900 billion-dollar
\nAmerican Rescue Plan proposed by Democrat President Joe Biden to help the
\nAmerican economy recover after the COVID crisis. The law was voted at the end
\nof a long debate where Republicans denounced certain measures they consider to
\nbe too costly and badly designed. The text has been submitted to the Senate,
\nwhere the Democrats have prepared a legislative move allowing them to adopt
\nthe plan without the support of the Republicans. Among other things, the plan
\nprovides for the purchase of vaccines and medical equipment and for the
\ndistribution of new financial assistance packages to American households, local
\nbusinesses and administrations that have been affected by the pandemic. The
\nassistance also includes a direct payment of $1.400 to natural persons, an
\nunemployment allowance of $400 to be paid until August 29 and other relief
\nmeasures for those who cannot pay rent until mid-March. (V.P.)<\/p>\n