April 5, 2021 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 05.04.2021, 20:00
ECONOMY – Prime minister Florin Cîţu held a press conference on Monday in which he announced the creation of an inter-ministerial committee to work, starting on 1st June, on the first steps towards a return to normality in Romania. Vaccination is the only solution to go back to a normal life and restart the economy, he said. He added that many restrictions would be lifted, but until then mass vaccination must be stepped up and asked the Church to become involved in the immunization campaign, especially in the rural areas. Cîţu urged Romanians to get the vaccine in April and May so that restrictions may be eased from 1st June. He said Romania will have enough doses to vaccinate 10 million people by the end of July.
CORONAVIRUS – More than 3,600 new Covid cases were recorded in Romania on Monday as well as 120 fatalities, with total infections nearing 980,000 and the death toll in excess of 24,000. 1,478 Covid patients are in intensive care. The capital Bucharest and 13 counties are in the red zone, with more than 3 cases in 1,000 people tested. The mass vaccination campaign continues in the meantime, at a rate of over 50,000 shots a day. Over 2.1 million people have been given the vaccine in this country so far, of whom half got the second dose. A new batch of over 511,000 Pfizer vaccines was delivered to Romania on Monday as part of the EU vaccine supply scheme. 15 new Covid vaccination centres opened on Monday.
RESTRICTIONS – Some European states have toughened restrictions to combat the pandemic, while others have eased measures to allow their economies to restart. The whole of Italy is considered red zone, with a high risk of contagion. Severe restrictions were also introduced at the weekend in France. Family meetings were limited, movement is only allowed within a distance of 10 km and non-essential shops are closing, while schools remain closed. Germans protested again on Monday against tougher measures, while Ukraine decided to close schools. Greece has allowed most shops to reopen and is relaxing restrictions for spending free time, while Portugal is reopening museums, high schools and outdoor cafes and restaurants. Europe is way behind the US in terms of immunization, with only 11.7% of its population getting the first vaccine dose, against 30% in the latter, France Presse reports.
ELECTIONS — PM Boyko Borissov’s centre right party, GERB, won Sunday’s legislative elections in Bulgaria, with 26% of the votes, according to partial results made public on Monday. The anti-establishment party There Is Such a People came out second, with 18% of the votes, the opposition Socialists won almost 15% while the ethnic Turkish MRF party got 8.8% of the votes. The anti-graft grouping Democratic Bulgaria and centre-left alliance Stand Up! Mafia Out!, which were behind massive anti-corruption protests last year, also made it to parliament. The PM’s party is expected to struggle to find allies to form a stable governing coalition.
AGRICULTURE — Romania continues to be the biggest sunflower producer in the EU, both in terms of output and cultivated area, in spite of the fact that the crop dropped 42% last year due to draught, as against 2019, when it exceeded 3.5 million tones, the National Institute of Statistics announced. Hungary, Bulgaria and France are among the top sunflower producers in the EU, after Romania, whose sunflower exports accounted for over 600 million euros in 2020. (EE)
