UKRAINE In the context of the
\nRussian-Ukrainian standoff, the Romanian foreign ministry has raised the alert
\nlevel for Ukraine and advises Romanian citizens to avoid travelling to that
\ncountry. The foreign ministry firmly recommends avoiding travels to Crimea, to
\nthe Donetsk and Luhansk regions and to Ukraine’s borders with Russia and
\nBelarus. Romanian nationals currently in Ukraine are urged to notify their
\npresence to Romania’s embassy or consular offices and to reconsider staying in
\nthat country. The foreign ministry also calls on Romanian citizens, including
\njournalists, to avoid big crowds, to stay up to date with information from
\nreliable sources and to adjust their plans to the security situation there. A
\ngrowing number of countries, including the US, Britain and Germany, are urging
\ntheir citizens to leave Ukraine, as Western powers warn that a Russian invasion
\nmay be imminent. Moscow has massed around 100,000 troops and military equipment
\nalong the Ukrainian border and started military exercises at the Black Sea and
\nin Belarus, but denies any aggressive plans. The US president Joe Biden has
\nonce again warned the Russian leader Vladimir Putin, over the telephone, of the
\nprospective consequences of an invasion.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
NATO Meanwhile, US Stryker armoured
\nvehicles have reached the Mihail Kog\u0103lniceanu military base in southern Romania,
\nwhere 1,000 US troops will also be relocated from Germany to strengthen NATO’s
\neastern flank. With the arrival of Task
\nForce Cougar, the number of American troops in Romania reaches nearly
\n2,000. France
\nhas also voiced willingness to deploy troops to Romania. A NATO member since
\n2004, Romania was already hosting 900 American, 250 Polish and 140 Italian
\ntroops. A unit of the US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), comprising around 150
\ntroops and 8 F-16 Fighting Falcons, are conducting joint training missions with
\nRomanian troops and aircraft for 2 weeks. A senior Pentagon official also announced the US decided to send an
\nadditional 3,000 troops to Poland as well.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
COVID-19 The number of new COVID-19 cases
\ncontinues to drop in Romania, with nearly 12,000 new cases reported on Sunday
\nand 81 related deaths. Over 1,140 patients are currently in intensive care. The largest number
\nof infections since the start of the pandemic,
\n40,018, was reported on February 1. The health minister Alexandru Rafila said the number of new reported cases remains high,
\nalthough it is falling quickly, and once again pleaded for vaccination,
\nespecially among vulnerable categories. As for lifting the restrictions, the
\nhealth minister did not specify a deadline, but stressed that relaxation will
\nbe as quick as the situation allows it. In turn, the head of the
\nvaccination programme Valeriu Gheorghi\u0163\u0103 said that in the future vaccination
\nwill be seasonal, just like for the flu, and the vaccine will be adjusted to
\nthe variant circulating at a particular time. He also said the
\nvaccination rate in Romania stands at 50.5% of the adult population. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
PANDEMIC This weekend restrictions were eased off in Italy, Spain and
\nIceland, while France and Germany are planning
\nto do the same in the coming weeks. Norway lifted the last protection measures
\nin the country in spite of a rise in the number of Omicron cases. However, the
\nprotests initiated by truck drivers in Canada 2 weeks ago, and spreading to
\nseveral other countries on Saturday, are still going on. European drivers
\nheaded to major capital cities to protest the compulsory vaccine and digital
\ncertificate. Protests were organised in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia
\nand New Zealand. (A.M.P.)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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