February 27, 2021 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 27.02.2021, 20:00

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – The vaccination
campaign continues in Romania, a total of 1.5 million doses of vaccines 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 on Friday 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
certificated 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 committees on Saturday adopted the 2021 state and social
security budget bills. The documents passed in the form presented by the
Government, and none of the 3,000 amendments were adopted. The opposition says
this is an austerity budget, providing for no increases in salaries, pensions
and state allowances, while the power claims the allocations will help overcome
the health and economic crisis caused by the pandemic. Labor Minister Raluca
Turcan said the social-security budget is higher than that of the past two
years, and child benefits will be increased in two stages. 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 France,
Greece, Romania, Spain, USA and Turkey. Bulgaria had to cancel its
participation due to last-minute COVID infection cases reported among its
sailing crews. 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.

MOLDOVA – The first 21.600
doses of anti-COVID-19 vaccine donated by Romania have reached neighboring
Moldova. Moldova’s President, Maia Sandu, posted a message on her Facebook
page, writing this is the first batch of the 200,000 doses of vaccine, part of
a generous donation promised by Romania to the citizens of our country. Thank
you, Romania, president Sandu writes. She added that Saturday’s batch of
AstraZeneca vaccines will be used to immunize health and first line workers.

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.)