January 29, 2021

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 29.01.2021, 13:55

FIRE – A fire broke out on Friday morning at the Matei
Balş Institute for Infectious Disease in Romania, killing five patients.
Several wards burned down in the fire and heavy smoke spread throughout the
building. 120 patients were evacuated and transferred to other medical units.
So far the cause of the fire remains unknown, but prosecutors have launched a
manslaughter investigation. Prime Minister Florin Cîţu has conveyed his
condolences to the families of the victims and said all the measures are being
taken to bring the situation under control. The Prime Minister’s Office inquiry
team is already conducting its own investigation. Senate Speaker Anca Dragu
said the fire is a tragedy that cannot remain without consequence, adding that,
once the cause of the fire is ascertained, swift actions are needed to right
the wrongs in the healthcare sector. Social-Democrat leader Marcel Ciolacu said
he felt shocked, heartbroken and appalled with the Government’s lack of action
to make sure the tragedy at Piatra Neamţ must not happen again. We recall
another fire broke out in November at an IC unit at the Piatra Neamţ Emergency
County Hospital which killed 10 people.

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – Romania’s national vaccination campaign is in full
swing, with over 534 thousand people immunized so far. Health Minister Vlad
Voiculescu has announced Romania is facing a shortage of vaccine doses. The
Minister also said certain centers, which immunized people from outside the
eligible categories, are to face sanctions. 2,737 new infections were announced
on Friday in addition to 91 COVID-related fatalities. Since the outbreak, over
724 thousand people have got infected in Romania and more than 18 thousand
died. About one thousand people are currently being treated in IC units.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – The infection rate remains high on the continent,
putting pressure on medical systems, which is why a relaxation of restrictions
would be premature, the WHO Director for Europe, Hans Kluge, has said. The WHO
official believes the high rates of infection and the emergence of new strains
of the coronavirus have stressed the need for urgently immunizing top-priority
categories of people, but the rate of production and distribution of vaccines
has fallen short of expectations, for the time being. The vaccination process
has started in 35 European states, Director Kluge argues, and some 25 million
shots have already been administered. The UK is the first European country to
start a national anti-COVID vaccination campaign. In other states, such as the
Seychelles, Iceland or Cyprus, authorities announced they would renounce
testing and quarantine for travellers who present an international vaccine
certificate. Over 102 million infections have been reported globally since the
start of the epidemic and over 2.2 million people have died to the virus, the
latest worldometers.info update reveals.

EPPO – The Romanian
Justice Ministry today is announcing the candidates it selected for the
position of EPPO delegate prosecutor in Romania. The prosecutors will be
working for the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in their home
countries and will have the same responsibilities as national prosecutors in
terms of investigations, criminal actions and prosecution. The EPPO will also investigate
fraud and other crimes infringing on the EU’s financial interests. EPPO will
also be investigating crimes with EU-wide effects or crimes perpetrated by
civil servants or members of European institutions. We recall Romanian Laura Codruța Kovesi is the head of the European
Public Prosecutor’s Office.

MOLDOVA – A Romanian delegation on Thursday discussed with
Moldovan authorities in Chişinău about technical and legal proceedings needed
to deliver the batch of anti-COVID-19 vaccine to Moldova. The batch totals
200,000 doses, in addition to medical and protection equipment required to
treat the infected. The assistance package offered by Romania has been
announced by President Klaus Iohannis during last month’s visit to the Republic
of Moldova.

NAVALNY – A Russian court has ruled against the appeal lodged
by Russian opposition leader, Alexey Navalny, who demanded his release from
prison. A vehement critic of President Vladimir Putin, Navalny took the
opportunity to warn the Kremlin, whom he accuses of attempting to assassinate
him after poisoning him last year. The police has searched the apartments and
offices of people close to Navalny, detaining several people, including
Navalny’s brother and his associates. Alexey Navalny was arrested on January 17
at the airport shortly after his arrival from Germany, where he was
hospitalized and treated for Novichok poisoning. The Russian authorities have
denied any involvement in his attempted assassination. The United States
requested Navalny be released. (V. Palcu)