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\n<\/p>\n
COVID-19 IN ROMANIA <\/b>– Prime Minister
\nFlorin C\u00ee\u0163u on Sunday called for identifying new hospitals to join the fight
\nagainst COVID-19, by increasing the number of ICU beds to 1,600 and ensuring
\nthe necessary supply of medicines and continuing vaccination. In a post on
\nFacebook, Florin C\u00ee\u0163u said he attended a meeting of the National Center for the
\nManagement and Coordination of Interventions, to make sure patients and health
\nworkers have everything they need to get through the third wave of the
\npandemic. The Prime Minister said that, for the time being, Romania isn’t
\nreporting an alarming increase of the infection rate, but advised cautionary
\npreparations for a possible increase in the number of cases. The state of alert
\non Sunday was extended for another 30 days in Romania. The measures adopted by
\nthe Government to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic took effect on
\nSaturday at midnight. All restrictions imposed so far remain in place, with the
\nexception of the nighttime curfew, which now begins at 10 PM and ends at 5 AM.
\nMoreover, hotels and guesthouses in mountain resorts can only function at 70%
\ncapacity. On the other hand, the vaccination campaign continues, with another
\n50,000 people immunized in the last 24 hours. On Monday, the campaign enters in
\nits third phase addressing the general population. Also on Monday people can
\nregister on waiting lists on the online platform. On Sunday, some 4,400 new
\ninfections were reported nationwide and another 44 related fatalities. Over
\n1,200 people are currently in intensive care. <\/p>\n
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COVID-19 IN THE WORLD<\/b> – Over 120 million
\nconfirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections have been reported globally so far, as well as
\n2.6 million deaths, the Johns Hopkins Schools of Medicine in the United States
\nreports. Over 30 million infections and 546 thousand deaths have been reported
\nin the United States since the start of the pandemic. The second-most affected
\ncountry in the world is Brazil, with 11 million infections and 277 thousand
\nfatalities. In Europe, Great Britain has exceeded 125 thousand deaths, followed
\nby Italy with 102 thousand and France with over 80 thousand. The situation is
\nserious in the Republic of Moldova as well, where the Supreme Security Council
\nand President Maia Sandu recommended the Government to declare a state of
\nemergency amidst an alarming increase in the number of infections. In its
\nlatest report, over 1,800 new infections were signaled in Moldova. <\/p>\n
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PARLIAMENT <\/b>– The
\nSocial-Democratic Party next week will file a no-confidence motion against
\nEconomy Minister, Claudiu N\u0103sui. Social-Democrats claim the minister adopted no
\nmeasures to support entrepreneurs, while insisting on selling stocks of
\nprofitable state-owned companies. Minister N\u0103sui says the motion was prompted
\nby the publication of contracts signed by the Ministry, and that disclosures
\nwould continue. Parliament must also set a date on voting the EU’s system of
\nown funds. To pass the decision needs a third of the votes, and for the time
\nbeing the power and the opposition haven’t reached an agreement. The Social-Democratic
\nParty wants a debate in Parliament on the measures stipulated in the national
\nrecovery and resilience plan. <\/p>\n
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STATISTICS <\/b>– The value of total
\ngoods that transited Romanian ports totaled 47.22 million tons, down by 11.1%
\nas compared to 2019, the National Institute for Statistics reports. The ports
\nwith the highest volume of trade in 2020 were Constan\u0163a, with 83.5% of total
\ntrade, Midia with 9.6% and Gala\u0163i with 5.1%. Most goods were inbound and
\noutbound to Russia and Turkey. Of all the other EU member States, Spain and
\nGreece reported the highest volume of transported goods. The transport of goods
\nvia domestic waterways stood at 30.5 million tons, accounting for a drop of
\n8.2%. <\/p>\n
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ENERGY <\/b>– Romania’s Energy
\nMinister, Virgil Popescu, on Monday and Tuesday will discuss with EU officials
\nplans for restructuring the Oltenia Energy Company (southern Romania). In
\nDecember, the Minister Popescu officially notified the European Commission
\nregarding plans to restructure the Company, which include financial assistance
\nfrom the state. On February 5, the European Commission announced the launch of
\na comprehensive investigation of the state funding allotted to restructure the
\ncompany. The Oltenia Energy Company needs the approval of the European
\nCommission by the end of April in order to receive the funds which will be used
\nto pay carbon gas emission certificates for 2020 penalty-free. <\/p>\n
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\n
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BORDER POLICE<\/b> – The Romanian
\nBorder Police in Arad County, western Romania, have picked up 14 citizens from
\nAfghanistan and Pakistan, trying to cross into Hungary hidden in three
\nfreighter trucks, driven by two Turkish nationals and one Bulgarian. The border
\npolice have launched an investigation and have taken all the necessary measures
\nin this case. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
FILM <\/b>– The American Film
\nAcademy on March 15 will announce the Oscar nominations for 2021. The film colectiv
\ndirected by Alexandru Nanau is Romania’s proposal, selected in the best international
\nfeature and best documentary sections. colectiv last month was shortlisted
\nfor the 2021 Oscars. The film is also nominated for the 2021 BAFTA Awards in
\nthe Best documentary section. The film tells the story of the first year after
\nthe devastating fire at Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest of October 30, 2015,
\nwhich killed 64 people. (V.P.)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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