January 23, 2021 UPDATE

A news update

Newsroom, 23.01.2021, 20:00

COVID-19 — As many as 830 thousand people had registered until Saturday on the dedicated vaccination platform as part of the 2nd stage of the vaccination campaign, which mainly includes the elderly and the people with chronic diseases, the disabled and the employees of key sectors. The Prime Minister Florin Cîţu said that the authorities maintain the objective of having at least 1.2 million Romanians vaccinated with both doses by the end of March and 10.4 million by the end of September. He also stressed the importance of continuing to observe anti-coronavirus protection rules everywhere and at all times. Despite the recommendation of the Romania Health Ministry, restrictions generated by Covid-19 will be partially lifted in Bucharest as of Monday – the Municipal Committee for Emergency Situations announced. Theaters, cinemas, restaurants, bars, cafes and gambling halls will be able to operate, but at a capacity of maximum 30%. Official data made public on Saturday show that 2,719 new COVID-19 cases have been identified in Romania following 26.700 tests made. Another 94 people have died from COVID-19. So far, more than 709 thousand cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Romania, and about 90% of the patients have recovered.

Travel – All persons reaching the US by air will be required to present, upon boarding, a negative SARS-CoV-2 test or a document attesting that they have been infected but have recovered. The negative test should be made 72 hours (3 days), at the most, prior to reaching the USA – the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced. The measure, which will apply to all people over the age of 2, including to US citizens, permanent residents and citizens transiting the US, will take effect on January 26. In another move, people in risk areas, including Romania, who travel to the Netherlands by air or sea, should present, starting on Saturday, a rapid test for the new coronavirus, made no later than four hours before departure. France will also require, as of Sunday at midnight, a negative PCR Covid-19 test that needs to be taken with a maximum of 72 hours before the trip. Exempted from the rule are road transporters and cross-border workers.

Brussels – The European Ombudsman, quoted by Reuters, has announced the launch of an investigation into the way in which the European Commission is managing the contracts for the purchase of the Covid-19 vaccines concluded with pharmaceutical companies on behalf of the EU member states. The EU has spent about 2.5 billion Euros for down payments to buy about 2.3 billion doses of vaccine from six companies that have Covid-19 vaccines approved or in the experimental phase. The prices, delivery deadlines and other important clauses in the contracts are kept secret, the European Commission claiming that confidentiality is essential to obtain the best possible contractual conditions. However, the Ombudsmans inquiry concerns the EC’s refusal to provide public access to those documents. EU states have complained about insufficient vaccine deliveries and uncertain timelines.

Expo — The Commissioner of the Romanian Section for Expo 2020 Dubai, Ferdinand Nagy, paid a working visit to the United Arab Emirates between January 17-21. He met with Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman of the Expo Dubai 2020 Steering Committee. During the talks, the two stressed the importance of bilateral relations, in the context of the Strategic Economic Partnership concluded in 2018. The Romanian official also had a meeting with Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, both expressing confidence that Romanias presence at Expo 2020 Dubai will attract both the interest of visitors and of the business environment. Romania will participate in the World Exhibition with a national pavilion entitled New Nature. Expo 2020 Dubai will have the theme Connecting Minds, Creating the Future and will take place between October 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022.

Chisinau – The president of the Committee for International Relations of the Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, Konstantin Kosaciov, virulently criticized the recent decision of the Constitutional Court in Chisinau, which declared unconstitutional the law that gave the Russian language a special status in Moldova, an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population. Konstantin Kosaciov considers similar the Moldovan Constitutional Court’s decision and Ukraines decision of 16 January, which introduced the Ukrainian language to the countrys service sector, calling the decisions attacks on the Russian language. The Russian senator makes a link between the two measures and Republic of Moldova’s and Ukraine’s aspirations for European integration. In his opinion Russophobia becomes a systemic element of European policy, encouraged by the European Union in Russias neighborhood. The Romanian Ambassador to Chisinau, Daniel Ioniţă, on the contrary, has appreciated as correct and normal the decision of the Constitutional Court, this being an additional proof that the Romanian language must be known by all the citizens living on the territory of the Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova.

Moscow – More than one thousand people were arrested by the riot police on Saturday in Russia during the demonstrations in favor of the Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, according to the OVD-Info NGO, which specializes in monitoring protest movements in the country. The crowd numbering 10,000 people according to France Press and 40,000 according to Reuters, gathered in central Moscow, and journalists witnessed violent arrests and clashes between the police and protesters. Iulia Navalnaya, the wife of the Russian opposition leader, announced that she was detained by the police in Msocow during the demonstration. Alexei Nalvalny was arrested on his return from Germany, where he had been treated after a poisoning attempt, for which he blamed the FSB. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent to Moscow, before the protests, several collaborators of Alexei Navalny were arrested for a several days and fined. The Kremlin labeled the demonstrations as inadmissible. “Russia will be free”, “Putin is an assassin” and “Freedom for political prisoners” — were the slogans the chanted by crowd gathered in Pushkin Square. (tr. L.Simion)