January 3, 2021 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 03.01.2021, 19:22
Covid-19 Ro. Authorities in Bucharest announced on Sunday 3,034 new cases of coronavirus infection, out of over 9,800 tests processed in the last 24 hours. Most of them, 589, were registered in Bucharest. The capital is followed by the counties of Cluj (northwest), with 164 cases, and Timiş (west), with 162. In the same interval, 60 people died, the total number of COVID-19 -related deaths approaching 16 thousand. The total number of infections has exceeded 640 thousand since the start of the pandemic. About 575,000 patients have been cured. Currently, there are 1,119 Covid-19 patients in intensive care. The new variant of coronavirus detected in Great Britain has not been confirmed on the Romanian territory so far, the Ministry of Health has stated. Specialists hope that the COVID-19 vaccines developed so far will be effective in the case of the new variant of coronavirus. As of Monday, vaccination against COVID-19 starts in over 90% of the 370 centers set up for the vaccination of the medical staff in Romania, so about 20 thousand people will be able to get the jab daily. The coordinator of the national vaccination campaign, the army doctor Valeriu Gheorghiţă, mentioned that, since December 27, when the immunization of the medical staff started, about 13,200 people have been vaccinated and only 27 minor side effects have been reported.
Pandemic. In parallel with vaccination campaigns, new restrictions to curb the coronavirus pandemic mark the beginning of the year. After a relaxing break during the Christmas and New Year holidays, the Greek authorities have decided to re-impose harsh restrictions on Sunday, which will end on January 11: a ban on night traffic and the closure of stores and beauty shops, and also of churches. Schools will also remain closed. France will apply travel restrictions from 18:00, not 20:00 as before, and Germany will consider extending the quarantine after January 10. The British government has decided to postpone the resumption of classes in all primary schools in London, and in Italy it is the fourth day of national quarantine. At the same time, anyone coming from abroad will be quarantined for two weeks. In several regions in Spain, including in Madrid, traffic restrictions will be enforced on Monday, in an attempt to avoid a third wave after the winter holidays. With nearly 21 million infections confirmed so far and about 358,000 deaths, the United States remains the most affected country in the world. On the other hand, the more contagious strain of the virus, initially found in the UK, is being detected in a growing number of other countries.
Statistics. Romanians have officially become the second largest foreign nationality in Austria, according to a statement from Statistics Austria. The data show that the number of Romanian citizens living in Austria went up in 2019 by 10,777 people, reaching 123,461 on January 1st, 2020. This strong increase sent the Romanians to the second position, after Germans (200,059 people) and ahead of citizens of Serbia (122,364) and Turkey (117,640), reads the communiqué. According to preliminary results, 1,487,020 people of foreign nationality live in Austria, which accounts for 16.7% of the total population.
Employment. In Romania, the quota of newly admitted foreign workers on the labor market will decrease this year by 5,000 people, from 30,000 in 2020. The decision was made based on the latest data submitted by the General Inspectorate for Immigration, which indicated a decrease in the number of employment / posting notices issued to foreign nationals in the first 10 months of 2020. Another reason was that, as of this year, employers are exempted from the obligation to obtain employment permits for citizens of the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and the Republic of Serbia, with an individual full-time employment contract, for a maximum period of nine months in a calendar year.
Aid. The living containers and tents sent by Romania to Croatia have already been assembled and handed over to the local authorities, so that they can be distributed in the localities severely affected by the December 29 earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.2 on the Richter scale. According to the Department for Emergency Situations in Bucharest, one of the containers was given to a family whose house collapsed following the earthquake. Romania has sent Croatia humanitarian aid worth about 640,000 lei (the equivalent of more than 120,000 euros), consisting of housing containers, tents, beds, mattresses and sleeping bags. According to official data, about 3,500 homes were destroyed by the earthquake.
Visit. The President of the Republic of Moldova (the former Soviet country with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population), pro-Western Maia Sandu, will pay an official visit to Ukraine on January 12, the Moldovan presidential administration has announced. The relations between the two countries were cold between 2016 and 20202, when the President of the Republic of Moldova was Igor Dodon, a declared pro-Russian, whom Maia Sandu defeated in the November election. The first high-level visit received by Maia Sandu after taking over the presidency was that of the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, on December 29. The two officials adopted a joint statement aimed at strengthening the strategic partnership between Bucharest and Chisinau. (M. Ignatescu)
