January 17, 2021 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 17.01.2021, 19:15

Vaccination. Phase
two of the mass vaccination campaign is under way in Romania, targeting people
over the age of 65, chronic patients and workers in key sectors. According to
official figures, more than 204,000 people have received the Covid jab since mass
immunisation began on 27th December. According to the campaign
coordinators, the demand for vaccination surpassed the number of available
appointments, which also depends on the available vaccine stocks. More than 2,100
new infections and 57 new deaths were reported on Sunday and 1,076
Covid patients are in intensive care. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Romania
has recorded almost 694,000 cases and more than 17,200 related deaths. As
regards the infection
rate, only the capital Bucharest and the counties of Ilfov (south), Timiş (west) and Cluj
(north-west) are still in the red tier.

Restrictions.
The UK is struggling to contain a more contagious variant of Covid-19, which has
also made its way to mainland Europe. Countries are tightening restrictions to
contain the British variant and two others originating in South Africa and
Brazil. Italy has imposed lockdowns in most regions for almost a month.
According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Rome, people are only allowed to
leave their homes between 5 am and 10 pm and only to go to work, for health
reasons and to buy essentials. Shops stay closed with the exception of food
shops, pharmacies and tobacco shops. Ski resorts are closed until mid February.
Museums that are not in the red zones are allowed to open from Monday to
Friday, and gyms, swimming pools and cinemas stay closed until 5th
March. Schools in the red zones are closed, while those in the amber zones can
open with 50% of the students physically present in class.

Electric cars.
The number of eco-friendly cars in Romania stood at some 8,900 at the end of
2020, up 33.3% compared with the same period in 2019, according to the
Automotive Manufacturers and Importers Association cited by Agerpress news
agency. Hybrid cars accounted for most new purchases last year, namely 5,000.
2,800 electric vehicles and more than 1,000 plug-in models were sold.

E-commerce. The number of
people aged between 16 and 74 who used online services to order and purchase
goods and services has seen steady growth in Romania in recent years to reach
58.2% in 2020, according to the National Institute for Statistics. 45% of them
made online orders and purchases in the last three months, 32% in the last year
and 23% more than a year ago. Compared with the previous year, the number of
people making online purchases grew by more than 15% in 2020.

Oscars. The American Film
Academy has expanded the number of films on its international feature shortlist
from 10 to 15 titles, all of which will be published on 9th
February. Romania’s submission in this category is the documentary film Collective by the Romanian-German director Alexander Nanau. The
film follows a journalistic investigation into the corruption in the Romanian
healthcare system in the aftermath a devastating fire that broke out at a
Bucharest nightclub in October 2015 and which killed dozens of people. In
December, the film was voted best documentary at the European Film Awards.

Handball. The Romanian women’s handball champions SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea defeated the Croatian side Podravka 27:25 in Champions League Group B to win their first match after six consecutive losses. They will next be playing two matches at home, against Buducnost Posdorica from Montenegro on Wednesday and against CSKA Moscow four days later. Also on Sunday, the Romanian women’s side HC Dunărea Brăila drew 25-all against the Russian side Kuban Krasnodar in a Round 2 Group D match as part of the EHF European League. The Romanian side now top the group ahead of next week’s match at home against trophy holders Siofok KC from Hungary. (CM)