Latest Romanian and international news.
Vaccination. Romania hit 1 million Covid vaccinations today, two months after the start of its mass immunisation campaign and sooner than the authorities' initial estimate. Prime minister Florin Cîţu said Romania has the third highest vaccination rate in Europe and that the vaccination of the general population may begin as early as this month. The number of new Covid infections, continues, however, to rise from one day to the next. According to the latest toll, Romania has seen more than 812,000 coronavirus infections and 20,686 related deaths, with almost 4,300 new cases and 77 new fatalities reported today. 1,032 people are receiving intensive care treatment, a figure similar to that recorded in mid January. The list of red zone counties is also growing, exceeding 3 Covid cases per 1,000 inhabitants over the last 14 days. Ilfov, the county around Bucharest, on Tuesday joined Cluj, Maramureş and Timiş on the list of red zone counties. Dominic Fritz, the mayor of Timişoara, the biggest city in western Romania, said the city may go into lockdown, as the infection rate continues to rise and there are no more free beds in hospitals and intensive care units.
Restrictions Europe. The Italian government has extended restrictions for another month, including over the Easter holidays. Movement between regions is still banned until 27th March and all schools in high-risk areas were closed. In France, prime minister Jean Castex and health minister Olivier Véran are discussing with the local leaders in the worst hit regions trying to reach an agreement over possible new restrictions, such as weekend lockdowns, a measure imposed last week on the French Riviera and in the north, in Dunkirk. Paris' Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo categorically rejected the idea of weekend lockdowns, describing it as inhumane. She proposed other measures to slow down the spread of the virus, asking the government to provide more tests and vaccines for the Paris region. Sweden, which initially adopted a flexible strategy against the pandemic, has been seeing a 10% growth in the number of new infections and high hospitalisation rates for the last three weeks. Health authorities believe the country is heading for the third wave of the pandemic.
Justice. Former Romanian development minister Elena Udrea and the daughter of former president Traian Băsescu, Ioana Băsescu, were handed down prison sentences of 8 and 5 years, respectively, for money laundering and abetting bribery. The approximately 300,000 euros thus obtained was used to finance Traian Băsescu's presidential campaign in 2009. The court ruling is not final and can be appealed. In another development, civic groups and associations said they would stage a protest outside the Bucharest Tribunal today, following the latter's final ruling not to reopen an inquiry into an anti-government demonstration from 10th August 2018 when the gendarmerie used force against demonstrators. The representatives of civic associations said they would file a lawsuit against Romania in the European Court of Human Rights.
Budget. Parliament on Tuesday passed the state budget and social security budget bills without any amendments to the version proposed by the government. The ruling coalition formed by the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and PLUS Alliance and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania described the 2021 budget as balanced, based on sustainability, political responsibility and economic growth. The opposition, however, have criticised it as illegal, anti-social and anti-economic.
Legislation. The government is today meeting to discuss a new bill to amend an emergency order on the status of foreign nationals in Romania and the award of long-stay visas for the recipients of scholarships from the Romanian state. The bill also seeks to regulate the legal situation in case of extensions to the right to stay for beneficiaries of internships. The government is also expected to approve a bill on the ratification of Protocol 16 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms which allows Romania's High Court of Cassation and Justice and its Constitutional Court to request advisory opinions from the European Court of Human Rights. The government is also expected to approve a memorandum on the development options for Bucharest's international airport with the help of the World Bank.
Education. The learning loss cumulated by children in the rural area during remote teaching is enormous, according to a survey carried out by the World Vision Romania Foundation in 14 counties. Half of the teachers interviewed said their pupils are between 11% and 45% behind on learning. Many teachers said a standardised guideline is needed for catching up with lost learning, while 80% said they need digital education. The survey was conducted between 5th and 12th February in 75 schools around Romania. (CM)
Useful Links
Copyright © . All rights reserved