January 2, 2021 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 02.01.2021, 19:10

Covid-19 Ro.Almost 12,000 Romanians have been vaccinated against the new coronavirus so
far, according to the latest report from the Coordination Center of the National
Vaccination Campaign. Since December 27, when the medical staff began to be
immunized, there have been 26 minor side effects. Authorities have again called
on people to look for information about the COVID vaccination campaign from
official sources and have drawn attention to the fact that fake news on the
subject have circulated lately. According to the data communicated, on
Saturday, by the Strategic Communication Group in Bucharest, almost 1,200 new
cases of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 were registered in 24 hours in Romania.
Some 637 thousand cases of infection with the new coronavirus have been confirmed
in Romania since the onset of the pandemic. The number of COVID-19-related
deaths has exceeded 15,900, and 1,117 patients are currently being treated in
intensive care units.

Pandemic. The number of SARS
CoV-2 infections has exceeded 84.4 million worldwide, according to a report by
worldometers.info. More than 1.8 million people have died from Covid-19. The
United States is the most affected, with over 20 million cases of infection. Federal
authorities are trying to speed up vaccinations and counter a more infectious
variant of the virus, which has already appeared in Colorado, California and
Florida. India, which has more than 10 million cases of infection, conducted
vaccination simulations across the country on Saturday before launching a
massive immunization campaign against the new coronavirus. In Europe, France is
extending the traffic ban in 15 departments of the country to combat the spread
of the virus. Any non-essential travel was banned throughout France between 8
p.m. and 6 a.m., but, starting on Saturday, the restriction will apply from 6
p.m. in the 15 departments.

Education. In Romania, the
education digitalization strategy, developed by a group of specialists, is
under public consultation, until February 15th. The document aims, among other
things, at having 90% of Romania’s population able to work with computers
at an average level, which means, according to the strategy, digitally
literate. It is also aimed at equipping all educational units in Romania with
infrastructure and technological resources, adapted to permanent changes. At
this time, digital skills are included at the secondary level. The document is
posted on the edu.ro and smart.edu.ro websites of the Ministry of Education.

Brexit. The Romanian
government has launched an online platform at brexit.gov.ro with all the
details regarding the changes that have taken place in the relationship with
Great Britain, which, from January 1, 2021, is no longer part of the European
Union. Some of the most important changes are for the Europeans who want to
work or study in the UK from now on. Those who want to work in the UK will need
a visa. Visas will have to be paid and awarded on the basis of a score that
requires the applicant to have a job offer from a recognized British company,
on an annual salary of at least £ 25,600, and a good knowledge of English.
Romanian and European students who want to study in the UK from the next
academic year will also need visas, and tuition fees will be considerably
higher. Until last year, European students paid the same tuition fees as their
British counterparts and had access to bank loans to finance their studies.
Citizens of the European Union who want to visit the United Kingdom for tourism
purposes do not need a visa if their stay is not longer than 6 months.

Funds. Romanians
returning from work abroad can obtain European funds of 40,000 or 50,000 euros
for farms in the country through the financing line Support for the
settling of young farmers. The Agency for Financing Rural Investments
officially holds a new call for projects between January 4 and May 4. The
financial allocation for this session is 20 million Euro.

Agriculture. Romania’s total
grain production decreased, last year, to almost half, compared to 2019, due to
the extreme pedological drought that affected some agricultural areas in the
country. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, just over 17 million tons
were harvested, compared to 30 million tons in 2019. The largest decline was
recorded in corn, about 45%, and a decrease of almost 41% was recorded
for wheat. The only crop that recorded an increase in production in 2020 was
rye, the harvest being 26% higher than the previous year. (M. Ignatescu)