COVID-19 – 1,144 new cases of
\nCOVID-19 infection were reported in the last 24 hours, in addition to 67
\nrelated fatalities, the Group for Strategic Communication announced earlier
\ntoday. The Omicron strain of COVID-19 is spreading fast, with 38 cases having
\nbeen confirmed in Romania. Public health experts warn a new wave of the
\npandemic will hit Romania in January, in part due to the new Omicron strain,
\nbut also because of hte large number of Romanians who returned to Romania from
\nabroad to visit their families for the winter holidays. Under these
\ncircumstances, healthcare units are preparing for a new difficult period, as
\nthe new wave is expected to peak in late February and early March. 7.8 million
\nRomanians have completed the full vaccination scheme, accounting for 40% of the
\ntotal population. Some two million Romanians have also taken the booster. <\/p>\n
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GOVERNMENT – Today the
\nGovernment is expected to adopt two emergency decrees. One decree will
\nintroduce new obligations for online stores, linked to the warranty of
\nproducts, and is needed to avoid European infringement. By December 30, Romania
\nmust also transpose into national law a series of European directives aimed at
\nmaking online trade safer for both sellers and buyers. The law will not apply
\nto contracts for the distribution of digital content or services. On the other
\nhand, the Government also plans to provide financial assistance to pensioners
\nwith low incomes in need of medicine. Therefore, people with pensions or welfare
\nbenefits below 300 Euro, even if they have additional income sources, will be
\nawarded a 90% subsidy for purchasing medicine. <\/p>\n
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PROTEST – The Health
\nSolidarity Trade Union Federation is today staging new rallies in front of the
\nGovernment, Presidency and Parliament buildings, alternatively with support
\nactions in hospitals across the country. Trade unions are demanding equal
\nrights for health workers and threaten to launch more protest actions both in
\nhospitals and in the street. They are unhappy that health safety restrictions
\nlimit their right to protest and claim the lawmakers are using them as a tool
\nto suppress workers’ right to defend their interests. The Health Solidarity
\nFederation in Romania comprises over 25,000 healthcare employees. <\/p>\n
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ECHR – The European Court
\nof Human Rights ruled that the refusal of the Romanian judiciary to register a
\npolitical party that did not dissociate itself from the former Romanian
\nCommunist Party (PCR) was justified. The ruling cannot be appealed. National
\ncourts of law considered the program and statute of PCR contained vague
\ndefinitions and terms, violated democratic values and the social and political
\nevolution of the country after the 1989 anti-communist revolution, and promoted
\ntotalitarian and extremist actions that could undermine national security and
\nposed a threat to democratic values. The Court also notes that national courts
\nof law wanted to prevent any political party that abused its position of power
\nover a long period of time by instating a totalitarian regime from abuse the same
\nprivileges in the future. The communist regime in Romania was introduced in
\n1945 by Soviet occupation troops and was ousted in 1989. The dictatorship
\nimprisoned and killed hundreds of thousands of people, and was declared
\nillegitimate in 2006 by the then president, Traian B\u0103sescu. <\/p>\n
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HANDBALL – The Romanian men’s
\nhandball team on Wednesday is playing Turkey in a new friendly match on home
\nturf. The two teams also met on Monday, when Romania won 26-24. The friendly
\nmatches are replacing the new edition of the Carpa\u021bi Trophy tournament, which
\nwas supposed to take place in Cluj. The tournament got cancelled after two
\nparticipants, Switzerland and Iran, pulled out due to COVID-19 infections
\nreported in their staff. Over January 7-9, Romania will take part in a World
\nCup preliminary tournament, alongside the national teams of Israel, Cyprus and
\nthe Republic of Moldova. Romania is currently coached by the legendary Spanish
\ncoach Xavi Pasqual, who won the Champions League three times with Barcelona. (VP)<\/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":105208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-105595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n