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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.
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