February 27, 2021

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 27.02.2021, 13:56

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – The vaccination
campaign continues in Romania, a total of 1.5 million doses of vaccine having
been administered so far. Over 890 thousand people have received the vaccines
developed by Pfizer / BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Moderna. Another 3.432 new COVID-19
infections were reported on Saturday by the Group for Strategic Communication,
taking the total number of infections close to 800 thousand. 90% of people
infected with COVID-19 have recovered, while some 20,300 people have died. 1,000
people are in intensive care.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD –Worldwide
the number of cases of Sars-Cov -2 infection has exceeded 113 million, and that
of deaths 2.5 million. According to worldometers.info, more than 89 million
infected people have been cured. Meanwhile, European countries have opted for
voluntary vaccination against Covid-19, although some of them, such as France,
the United Kingdom or Hungary, are examining potential certificates or
passports to prove it, international news agencies report. In
Germany, coronavirus vaccination is voluntary and the government has stressed
that there are no plans to make it mandatory. Vaccination is not mandatory in
France either. However, the government has launched an online consultation to
find out citizens’ views on the possibility of implementing a vaccination
certificate and whether it should be mandatory or optional. In the United
Kingdom, which was the first country in the world to launch a mass vaccination
program against Covid-19, immunization is widely accepted by the population.
The vaccination plan in Italy is also voluntary and started with the highest
risk groups. For its part, the Austrian Government insists that vaccination is
and will be voluntary and that it has not yet been decided, for example,
whether it can be a condition for carrying out an activity. The World Health
Organization insists that the cure for the pandemic is to speed up
immunization, and the available vaccines promise an effectiveness of about 90%.
In another development, the European Medicines Agency announced the
antibody cocktail development by Regeneron can be used in treating COVID
patients. The United States adopted the product last year for emergencies,
President Donald Trump being one of the patients treated with Regeneron.

COUNCIL – EU heads of state
and government agreed to continue talks on the introduction of anti-COVID
vaccine passports, allowing for free circulation across the community bloc,
particularly during summer. At the European Council virtual summit, they pleaded
for a common approach. Member States relying on tourism, such as Cyprus and
Greece, have argued in favor of an accelerated adoption of vaccination
passports to save the summer season. After the videoconference, the Portuguese
Prime Minister expressed hope the European anti-COVID-19 vaccination
certificate will be implemented by summer, while French President Emmanuel
Macron said such a document cannot grant special rights to people who’ve taken
the vaccine. Representing Romania was President Klaus Iohannis, who’s called
for a coordinated EU-wide approach, saying the vaccination certificate should
be used for medical purposes only. President Iohannis has supported the quick
implementation of the European mechanism for donating vaccines to third
countries.

BUDGET – The
Romanian Parliament’s budget-finance committees on Saturday continue
debates on the 2021 budget bill. Labor Minister Raluca Turcan and Minister for
Investments and European Projects, Cristian Ghinea, will appear before senators
and deputies in the committees to discuss the budgets allotted to their
ministries. On Friday, the budgets of agriculture, healthcare, education,
economy and justice were approved, in addition to the budgets of public
institutions such as the radio and TV public broadcasters and the national
health insurance agency. Coalition leaders have agreed not to table any
amendments, while the proposals proposed by the opposition have been rejected. According
to the calendar established by the joint Permanent Bureaus, the joint sitting
of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate on the state and social security
budgets is scheduled for Monday. The bill will get the final vote on Tuesday.
The budget is based on a deficit target of 7.16% of the GDP, and an economic
growth rate of 4.31%.

POSEIDON 21 -
Some 700 soldiers, 13 military ships, 9 aircraft, a pyrotechnic intervention
vehicle and a remote-controlled underwater robot will be deployed during the
exercise ‘Poseidon 21’ organized by the Romanian Naval Forces between February
26 and March 6. It is the first multinational exercise in the Black Sea this
year, and involves the participation of forces and equipment from Bulgaria, France,
Greece, Romania, Spain, USA and Turkey. The NATO maritime command has
authorized the participation of NATO permanent anti-mine naval forces. The
exercise will include training against underwater threats, involving
hydrographic mapping operations to identify and neutralize mines and IEDs,
combat sequences to suppress air strikes, as well as towing damaged ships,
at-sea resupplying and rescue maneuvers.

PLAN – The US House of
Representatives on Saturday passed, with a majority of votes, the 1.900 billion-dollar
American Rescue Plan proposed by Democrat President Joe Biden to help the
American economy recover after the COVID crisis. The law was voted at the end
of a long debate where Republicans denounced certain measures they consider to
be too costly and badly designed. The text has been submitted to the Senate,
where the Democrats have prepared a legislative move allowing them to adopt
the plan without the support of the Republicans. Among other things, the plan
provides for the purchase of vaccines and medical equipment and for the
distribution of new financial assistance packages to American households, local
businesses and administrations that have been affected by the pandemic. The
assistance also includes a direct payment of $1.400 to natural persons, an
unemployment allowance of $400 to be paid until August 29 and other relief
measures for those who cannot pay rent until mid-March. (V.P.)