COVID-19 – Another 2,265 new
\ncases of COVID-19 infection were reported in the last 24 hours in Romania, the
\nGroup for Strategic Communication announced on Sunday. During the interval
\nanother 160 fatalities were reported, taking the national death toll to 26.232.
\nOver a million people got infected with SARS-CoV-2 since the start of the
\npandemic last year, 90% of whom have recovered. <\/p>\n
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VACCINATION – Some 2.6 million
\npeople have taken at least one shot of anti-COVID-19 vaccine, of whom over 1.6
\nmillion have taken both doses of the vaccine, the authorities in Bucharest have
\nannounced. Some 300,000 people working in the medical field have taken the
\nCOVID-19 vaccine, 90% of whom have taken both shots. The evolution of the
\nSARS-CoV-2 pandemic shows a significant drop in the weekly number of cases,
\nfrom 70\/day before the start of the vaccination campaign, to a little under
\n20\/day right now. Authorities say the data is indicative of the importance and
\nnecessity of vaccination to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and recall that the
\nadministration of one of the serums approved at EU level is free of charge and
\nvoluntary. The Romanian Defense Ministry is preparing mobile vaccination
\ncenters for immunizing people in rural or remote areas. 20 such centers will
\nbecome operational starting next week in areas organized by local authorities
\nor in medical containers, which will be provided by the National State Reserve
\nAdministration. The capacity of vaccination flows at the level of the Defense
\nMinistry is also expected to increase. <\/p>\n
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COALITION – The center-right
\nruling coalition made up of the National Liberal Party – PNL, the Save Romania
\nUnion – PLUS Alliance – USR-PLUS, and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians
\nin Romania – UDMR, is convening on Monday in its first session after last
\nweek’s demise of USR-PLUS Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu. USR-PLUS leaders
\nhave criticized Prime Minister Florin C\u00ee\u0163u’s decision to sack Voiculescu
\nand called for an emergency meeting of the ruling coalition to discuss the
\nwithdrawal of political support for the Prime Minister. In turn, PNL and UDMR
\nleaders have expressed support for Florin C\u00ee\u0163u, underlining that USR-PLUS must
\ncome up with a new proposal for the Health Ministry. On Friday, in a press
\nconference after his demise, Vlad Voiculescu made serious accusations targeting
\nthe Prime Minister and other Liberal leaders, claiming that he found numerous
\nflaws in the system since his appointment, which proves the central and local
\nauthorities’ mismanagement of the pandemic. Voiculescu accused Florin C\u00ee\u0163u of
\nnegligence and refusing to engage in a dialogue over the problems in the health
\nsystem. <\/p>\n
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DIPLOMACY – Foreign Minister
\nBogdan Aurescu on Monday is attending a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers held in
\nvideoconference format. The EU officials will also discuss the developments in
\nUkraine and exchange views with their Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba.
\nAccording to the Romanian MFA, Bogdan Aurescu will reiterate Romania’s support
\nfor Ukraine’s European integration efforts and encourage the developments of
\nefforts to conduct reforms to the benefit of all citizens. Additionally,
\nMinister Aurescu will highlight Romania’s support for Ukraine’s territorial
\nintegrity and sovereignty. At the same time, the Romanian official will express
\nconcern over Russia’s deployment of military equipment and troops in Crimea on
\nUkraine’s easter border and in the Black Sea region. <\/p>\n
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EXERCISE -
\nSome 15,000 military from Romania and allied and partner states will take part,
\nover May-June, in the Dacia 21 Livex exercise hosted by Romania. The exercise
\nis part of the joint training timetable, the Defense Ministry reports. The
\nfirst troops and equipment to arrive in Romania this week were 120 British
\nmilitary and 55 vehicles. Dacia 21 Livex confirms Romania’s capacity to engage
\nin defensive operations, as well as the permanent availability of allied and
\npartner countries to swiftly deploy considerable forces to Romania with a view
\nto defending the country against any potential threat to its national security.
\nAdditionally, Ministry officials say, Dacia 21 Livex will also probe Romanian
\nsupport to military forces and equipment transiting national territory. <\/p>\n
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POLICE
\nBRUTALITY – Two police officers were detained for 24 hours in a
\ncriminal investigation into the death of a man who passed away on Friday
\nin Pite\u015fti while he was being evacuated by the police from a restaurant during
\na fire. The autopsy report revealed the death was violent and was the result of
\npolytrauma in the neck and chest areas. The police are now investigating a
\npossible battery resulting in death, which is punishable by 6-12 years in
\nprison. Prime Minister Florin
\nC\u00ee\u0163u on Sunday called on Interior Minister, Lucian Bode, to conduct a swift
\ninquiry and said the guilty must be held accountable. (V.P.)<\/p>\n
<\/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":[28963,35374,36143,36144,33694,32305,30376],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-105035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-bogdan-aurescu","tag-covid-19","tag-developments-in-ukraine-dacia-21-livex","tag-police-brutality","tag-ruling-coalition","tag-vaccination-campaign","tag-vlad-voiculescu"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n