December 27, 2020 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 27.12.2020, 20:00
VACCINE – The anti-COVID-19 vaccination campaign started on Sunday in Romania and in all the other EU Member States. The first 10,000 anti-COVID-19 dozes arrived on Saturday in Romania and were distributed to infectious disease hospitals. Some 3,000 health workers are taking the vaccine shots these days. The next vaccine transport will arrive on Monday, and the dozes will be distributed to the 370 vaccination centers in medical units, the head of the national vaccination campaign, medical doctor Valeriu Gheorghiţă has said. The Romanian official said 60 to 70% fo the population could be vaccinated in the next six months. An IRES survey conducted over December 11-14 shows that 6 in 10 Romanians want to get immunized against COVID-19, although only a quarter of Romanians are willing to do this as quickly as possible. A third of the countrys population argues against taking the vaccine, the main reason being the lack of trust in the vaccine or in the medical system. 15% of respondents said the virus is too dangerous, or that their immunity is strong, while 13% said they fear possible side effects.
COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – Another 2,049 new COVID-19 infections and 122 new related fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours, the Group for Strategic Communication announced on Sunday. So far over 615,000 infections have been confirmed since the start of the outbreak in Romania. The national death toll has now reached 15,230. 1,206 patients are currently in intensive care. Nearly 85% of the people who got infected with SARS-CoV-2 have recovered.
COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – The vaccination campaign against the coronavirus started across the European Union on Sunday. The first vaccine transports arrived on Saturday in countries in the community bloc, where several people were already immunized. The EU starts its campaign against the backdrop of the discovery of a mutation of the coronavirus in southern England. European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, says this is a “touching moment of unity” for the 450 million citizens living in the 27 EU Member States. The European Union approved the vaccine developed by the German pharmaceutical company BioNTech in cooperation with the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, which clinical trials confirmed has a 95% efficiency against the coronavirus. Politicians and health experts have warned it will take months before the vaccine will be widely available to the population. Also on Sunday the World Health Organization warned that the COVID-19 pandemic wont be the last health crisis of this type.
UK – Romanias Embassy in the United Kingdom took steps to repatriate 95 Romanian citizens and nearly 500 seasonal workers whose work contracts ended and who have been affected by the travel restrictions introduced to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in this country. The Romanians were transported home via two charter flights operated by an airliner who answered the call of the Romanian embassy. The ticket costs for five passengers in vulnerable categories were also covered by the airliner. Europe is facing severe disruptions in air travel, considering a growing number of countries are banning flights to and from Great Britain amidst concerns over a new strain of COVID-19 discovered in this country.
CELEBRATION – Romanian Orthodox and Eastern-Catholic Christians on Sunday celebrated Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Stephen was one of the seven deacons appointed by the apostles after the Ascension of Jesus. The deacons were charged with distributing food and charitable aid to the members of the community in the early Christian Church. According to the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament, Saint Stephen performed miracles and convinced people to convert to the Christian faith. His popularity didnt sit well with the Jewish elders, who dispatched members of the Sanhedrin to arrest Stephen. He was found guilty of blasphemy and was stoned to death. Also on Sunday Roman-Catholics in Romania celebrated Saint John the Apostle. (V. Palcu)
