14 January, 2021

Vaccination. More than 3,500 new coronavirus cases and 66 related deaths were recorded today in Romania. Total number of confirmed cases now surpasses 684,000, while the death toll is 17,035. 1,101 Covid patients are in intensive care. 90% of Romanians who caught the virus have recovered. Some 155,000 healthcare workers and those working in social care have received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in Romania. Phase two of the vaccination campaign gets under way on Friday, targeting the elderly, chronic patients and workers in key sectors, totalling some 5 million people. Prime minister Florin Cîțu says the pace of vaccination will be stepped up, the target being the immunisation of more than 10 million people by September. 62% of Romanians say they want to be given the vaccine according to a poll conducted by Reveal Marketing Research between 6th and 11th January. 

WHO. The World Health Organisation has warned that 2021 may be more difficult than 2020 because the spread of new, much more contagious, variants of the virus is harder to control. The warning comes as a new strain, initially found in the UK, has now already been confirmed in 50 different countries and territories. World Health Organisation experts are in Wuhan, China, to investigate the origin of the pandemic. The 10 scientists on this mission will be interviewing staff of research institutes, hospitals and the produce market where the first Covid-19 outbreak was reported at the end of 2019. The arrival of the scientists, after months of negotiations between the World Health Organisation and China, comes as fresh coronavirus cases have been reported in northern China. 92.8 million persons have been infected with the virus globally, while the death toll is nearing 2 million.

Protest. Healthcare trade unions in Solidaritatea Sanitara federation are picketing the government building in Bucharest and prefecture offices around the country to demand more protection measures for healthcare workers amid the pandemic. They are also demanding a rise in the basic salary for all healthcare staff as of 1st January this year to the level stipulated in the salary law for 2022. The federation also wants the government to give up on the reduction of the basic salary as a result of a government order issued at the end of 2020 and to grant all healthcare workers special bonuses and a risk incentive for the entire duration of the pandemic.

Salary law. The government is looking at bonuses in the public sector and if they are justified as part of drafting the state budget for this year, said prime minister Florin Cîţu today. He explained that he is considering amending the salary law to eliminate inequalities in the public sector. He said the pensions law would also be amended this year to take into account the contribution principle. The government on Wednesday increased the gross minimum wage by approx. 3%.

Schools. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis is today meeting education minister Sorin Cîmpeanu, public health officials and other education and healthcare officials to assess the epidemiological situation and the possibility of reopening schools. With the exception of two months, schools have been closed in Romania since March last year, with teaching being conducted online. Children, parents and teachers are all calling for the resumption of in-person learning. In the opinion of UNICEF, the long-term closure of schools has devastating consequences, especially for vulnerable children.

Corruption. The former Liberal Democrat MEP Marian Zlotea is wanted by the Romanian police after he was handed a final sentence of 8 years and a half in prison for corruption and peddling in influence. As the head of the National Sanitary and Veterinary Authority, he used to force employees to pay monthly contributions to the now defunct Liberal Democratic Party. On Wednesday, when he received his sentence, Zlotea posted on Facebook that he left Romania and applied for political refugee status in a different country, from where he also plans to write to the European Court of Human Rights.

Celebration. Romanian minister for culture Bogdan Gheorghiu is today unveiling the events to be held as part of the celebration of National Culture Day tomorrow. The holiday has been celebrated since 2010 in Romania, the majority Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova, historical ethnic Romanian communities and other Romanian communities abroad. It coincides with the anniversary of the birthday of 19th century poet Mihai Eminescu, the national poet in Romania. Romanian diplomatic and consular missions and cultural institutes abroad are hosting special events. (CM)