June 21, 2021 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 21.06.2021, 19:28
Covid-19. Authorities in
Bucharest announced, on Monday, 26 new cases of coronavirus infection in more
than 9,400 tests performed. Also, 4 Covid-19 related deaths were reported.
Currently, there are 158 patients in intensive care. During the peak of
the last wave of infections in spring, there were almost 40,000 new cases per
week. The vaccination campaign continues, though at a much slower pace. On
Monday, authorities announced that 20 thousand doses had been administered in
the past 24 hours. Some 7 thousand people got the first dose, and 13 thousand
the second. Since December 27, 2020, when the campaign started, more than 4.6
million people have been vaccinated in Romania. Of them, 4.3 million have
received both doses.
EC. The European
Commission approved, on Monday, an aid scheme worth 610,000 Euros launched by
the Romanian authorities to support companies active in the independent
cultural sector, in the context of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a
EC press release reads. The measure was approved under the State Aid Temporary
Framework. The aid will take the form of direct grants. The purpose of the
scheme is to make up for the lack of liquidity faced by the beneficiaries due
to the restrictive measures that the Romanian Government had to implement in
order to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Schengen. As of next
month, Romania and Bulgaria will have limited access to the Schengen
information system. The Visa Information System will be available for
consultation, but no changes will be allowed. The decision was made after both
countries successfully completed a series of technical tests. Full access to
the Schengen information system will become possible after Bulgaria and Romania
are fully integrated into the free movement area, the European Commission says.
Earlier this month, the Commission said it supported the rapid entry of
Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia into the Schengen area. At present, 22 Member
States of the Union, together with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and
Switzerland, are part of this border control-free area.
Holy Trinity. Orthodox
Christians and Greek Catholics in Romania celebrated, on the second day of
Pentecost on Monday, the Feast of the Holy Trinity, a day dedicated to
Christian monotheism, according to which the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit are three persons in one God. The Christian tradition attributes to the
three divine persons specific works. The Father created the world out of
nothing. Jesus Christ saved it from sin. The Holy Spirit blesses people who
want to have a relationship of faith with God. Faith in the Holy Trinity is a
dogma established at the first ecumenical synods in the fourth century, when
the wrong theories called heresies, which introduced hierarchy into the Holy
Trinity, were fought against. Since then, the Christian faith admits that the
three persons of the Trinity are equal and in a relationship of absolute love.
Almost 25,000 police, firefighters, gendarmes and border guards were mobilized
in Romania to ensure the safe running of the public events held during
Pentecost.
Election. The first round
of France’s regional and departmental elections, postponed by three months due
to the pandemic and held on Sunday, was marked by an unprecedented absenteeism
and mixed results. The right-wing Republican party seems to be ranking first after
the first round. The next positions would be left and far right. The
presidential party La République en Marche suffered a severe defeat compared to
its expectations, as it hoped to get around 15%, but managed to get only
10-11%. The daily Le Figaro talks about a real disaster in terms of turnout.
Between 66 and 68% of the electorate did not go to the polls. Commentators talk
about several reasons, including a warning to President Macron, ahead of next
May’s presidential election. (MI)
