January 5, 2021 UPDATE
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 05.01.2021, 20:02
COVID-19 The second stage of vaccination, during
which workers in Romania’s key sectors and vulnerable citizens will get
immunized, is due to kick off next week and the third stage aimed at immunizing
the whole population is due to begin in April. The statement was made by
Valeriu Gheorghita, coordinator of the country’s national vaccination campaign.
Prime Minister Florin Citu has called on the local authorities to back the
measures related to the good functioning of the over 900 vaccination points
outside hospitals so that people may benefit from the vaccine as soon as
possible. About 47 hundred fresh infection cases have been registered in
Romania in the past 24 hours, the Strategic Communication Group announced on
Tuesday. 121 Covid-related fatalities have also been registered lately bringing
the death toll to 16,200. Since the onset of the pandemic, roughly 650 thousand
people have been infected in Romania, while 131 Romanians died abroad.
CORRUPTION Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis has submitted to Justice
Minister Stelian Ion, a request for the criminal prosecution of former
Environment Minister Costel Alexe in a file opened by the National
Anti-corruption Directorate, known as DNA in Romania. The DNA prosecutors have
been accusing Costel Alexe of bribery as well as aiding and abetting fraud.
According to them, between March 2020 and April 2020, Alexe would have
allegedly asked for 22 tons of iron sheet in exchange for CO2 certificates from
the manager of a steel plant. The former minister has rejected all allegations adding
that he trusts Romania’s justice system.
HOUSING In the 27 EU
member countries, 17.2% of the people were living in overcrowded households
last year, i.e. the number of rooms was insufficient for the number of family
members, according to data released on Tuesday by the European Statistics
Office (Eurostat). First by overcrowding rate was Romania, with nearly half of
its population (45.8%). Other EU member states with similar problems in 2019
included Latvia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Poland. The countries with the lowest
overcrowding rates were Cyprus, Ireland, Malta and the Netherlands.
PANDEMIC Several countries introduce new
restrictions to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Italy introduced a
2-day lockdown on Tuesday, and is to return on January 7 to the measures prior
to the winter holidays, including a night curfew and mandatory 2-week
quarantine for all citizens who enter the country. In Britain, PM Boris Johnson
announced a new lockdown, comparable to the one in spring 2020, as the
healthcare system is overwhelmed. Similar measures came into force at midnight
in Scotland, whereas the local governments in Wales and Northern Ireland
announced schools would stay closed. Austria, in turn, is extending the
lockdown at least until January 24th, and so is Germany, which
according to Deutsche Welle is extending tough containment measures for another
3 weeks.
DRILL A detachment made up of unmanned aerial
vehicles MQ-9 Reaper and almost 90 US Air Force servicemen have been deployed
to Base 71 in north-western Romania for the next couple of months. The US
troops are to carry out surveillance and research missions in support of NATO
operations. Their Romanian counterparts are expected to provide technical,
operational and logistic support during their activity. According to a Defence
Ministry communiqué, the US-Romanian cooperation contributes to strengthening
the collective defence capability and increasing regional security.
(bill)
